"Nanny" or "babysitter" make it sound boring. I prefer to call myself a "personal assistant" to a fifth and a sixth grade boy. I've been taking care of B & E since their mom went back to to work last week; doing chores around the house, picking them up for carpool, cooking dinner, helping with homework and most days taking the boys to hockey. It's not exactly what I thought I'd be doing with a UGA degree four months after graduating but I'm going with the flow and enjoying the ride. It could be a lot worse.
As with anything, the first few days were pretty overwhelming. No one does a better job with their kids than their parents, so relinquishing that control can be uncomfortable. But so far, things are going great. I'm exhausted, but they're a lot nicer than the boys I remember in fifth and sixth grade.
It's impossible not to think about this job as some sort of preparation for the future. Being with two young boys five days a week makes me more than a nanny, it makes me a pretty powerful influence in their lives. It's not something I thought about beforehand but now that I see the three of us getting more comfortable together, it's pretty cool.
I also get the chance to interject myself into a really strong family with a husband and wife who have loved eachother since college, a beautiful home and a precious little pup. Being a 'personal assistant' has me thinking about the day I'll relinquish control of my children to another person. This may sounds crazy. I don't have kids. I'm not married or engaged but as a woman your mind goes there. It just does.
I'd like to pull a Sheryl Sanberg, Lean In and have it all. Everything around me says it will be hard, but totally possible. So I admire their mom for setting an example for me, too. When I'm working, I mentally fast-forward fifteen or twenty years. How would I want someone to treat my house? my kids? That's the way I do it. I guess it all goes back to The Golden Rule. My mom taught me that.
As with anything, the first few days were pretty overwhelming. No one does a better job with their kids than their parents, so relinquishing that control can be uncomfortable. But so far, things are going great. I'm exhausted, but they're a lot nicer than the boys I remember in fifth and sixth grade.
It's impossible not to think about this job as some sort of preparation for the future. Being with two young boys five days a week makes me more than a nanny, it makes me a pretty powerful influence in their lives. It's not something I thought about beforehand but now that I see the three of us getting more comfortable together, it's pretty cool.
I also get the chance to interject myself into a really strong family with a husband and wife who have loved eachother since college, a beautiful home and a precious little pup. Being a 'personal assistant' has me thinking about the day I'll relinquish control of my children to another person. This may sounds crazy. I don't have kids. I'm not married or engaged but as a woman your mind goes there. It just does.
I'd like to pull a Sheryl Sanberg, Lean In and have it all. Everything around me says it will be hard, but totally possible. So I admire their mom for setting an example for me, too. When I'm working, I mentally fast-forward fifteen or twenty years. How would I want someone to treat my house? my kids? That's the way I do it. I guess it all goes back to The Golden Rule. My mom taught me that.
