Lessons from a Nanny

In my life I have had four jobs. As you know, you learn a lot from your employers and from those you work with. My time as a Nanny, while short, was pretty close to revolutionary in terms of knowledge gained. Not end a war revolutionary, but learn more about yourself revolutionary. When my sister moved to San Antonio for a job opportunity this past summer, she moved away from all of our family and her support system. With two kids and a job that constantly needed her, she was in need of some help and I was in need of a job. It's not often that you can honestly say you love your job, but when it's your adorable nieces its hard not to. Sure, sure... kids are hard and the adorableness can wear off at times. You start to think you may be dealing with small spawns of the devil but that only lasts as long as your impatience and that little devil morphs back into the adorable angel it always was. Being in charge of two children is both terrifying and exhausting. One minute they are standing next to you and the next they are chasing a butterfly into the parking lot. That parking lot, which is so harmless, all of a sudden turns into your worst nightmare... even after you realize there are no cars driving in it. But that was my three months as a nanny- playing chef, tutor, maid, doctor, and security guard.
Kids are so honest, painfully so at times, but the insight they have is unbiased and quite surprising.
Here are just a few things I learned from my nieces:

1. Bath time can be very therapeutic. I have always been a firm believer in this. I can often be found taking a hot bath after a stressful day; bath fizzies fizzing and Colbie Caillat blaring. My bath time was a safe haven after a long day of nannying, but it was also a great calming tool for Paisley. The promise of bubble-bath was like gold to the kid. One mention of it and whatever she had been crying about was suddenly unimportant. We will forget about the many bottles of bubble-bath that somehow found their way into the bath... all at once. For the purposes of this story, it was calming.

2. There is nothing quite like a good book. I believe I inherited my bookworm. My mom and grandmother both read like addicts. I will never forget the first book that made me cry. I'm not quite sure how old I was, but I brought home Shiloh and sat on the couch reading it all day until I was finished- eyes puffy and nose runny. As soon as I moved in with my sister I took the girls and myself to get a library card. My oldest niece, Taytum, preferred funny children's books like Judy Moody and Mercy Watson. Paisley fell in love with Katy Duck, stories about a little dancing duck who has to get over stage fright. Unfortunately for us, the dance instructor in these books was named Mr. Tutu (who interestingly wore tights and legwarmers) and my niece had a very different understanding of the word "tutu." So needless to say we all had a good time with these books. She would laugh every time I said his name, and her sister and I would laugh every time she recited the book almost word for word.

                                                 
3. Every girl wants to be treated like a princess. For those of you that know Paisley, you know this to be all too true. When I moved in Pay had just turned three and was entering into what psychologists call the "frilly-pink-dress-stage". This is when children discover that they have a gender that is unchanging and there are certain social roles and indicators for their gender. For example: girls wear dresses and play with dolls. The first day I tried to dress Paisley I spotted this adorable romper but before I could even put her in it she cried saying "b-b-but I want to be pretty in a dress." So this was our battle every day. Calm down all you feminists, I told her every day that she didn't need a dress to be beautiful but you try telling that to a three year old. It got worse after she was Rapunzel for Halloween. I would walk in her room to find her singing songs and twirling around in her glittery Rapunzel dress. For now I think she could care less about prince charming, she's just worried about the dresses and crowns.

4. There is no friend like a sister. I didn't really grow up with my oldest sister Falon but we have always been pretty close. She likes to joke about how she thought I was so annoying when I was little because I always got what I wanted. I don't doubt it. Watching Paisley and Taytum interact was really special and funny. It never ceased to amaze me how one minute Paisley could be hitting Taytum and the next minute Taytum would be soothing Paisley while she cried. The maturity that Taytum showed toward Paisley was unbelievable. There was one moment that really stands out to me. Paisley had had a long day and was kind of fussy about her mom having to work late. Taytum, in a very grown up way, told her "don't you remember Lama Lama Red Pajama?...please stop all this lama drama and be patient for your mama." :)

5. The world is amazing. It's so easy to forget how interesting and exciting the world truly is. What I wouldn't give to see the world in a child's eyes every once in a while. A butterfly is magical. An ice-cream cone can solve the world's problems. A playground and a few swings can entertain for hours. Their curiosity is never-ending and their love is so easy to achieve.