Throughout high school and college so far, being a nanny has been a part of my life and I have loved it... well, most of it. From the occasional babysitter to daily nanny, I get to be a part of these kids lives; I get to watch these kids grow up and to be there as a role model for them. However, it is not always rainbows and butterflies. Some days are better than others, but we spend every day with kids so it is always going to be a new adventure every day.
So, for those of you wondering, here is the daily life of a nanny:
When 8:00 a.m. rolls around, and the kids are ready for breakfast you seem to be moving in 20 different directions. You are expected to know what cereal they want, if they want toast, and whether or not they want their juice now or later.
After breakfast, we finish waking up with a tv show, then it is time to get ready for the big day. You normally make it a game, and very much enjoy their creativity with the outfits they choose. If you are lucky enough, you will have fashion shows some days to show off their "options."
It is 9:30 a.m. and we are already 20 minutes into playing princess/waiter/school. We have had three outfit changes and are already looking at our fourth outfit. When it is time to clean up, however, there is an instant cry of displeasure, so you have to make up a really good excuse why you are having to clean up.
A short walk to the park to get some fresh air before the afternoon heat sets in is just what we need about 11:00 a.m. The kids play, they wear themselves out to the point of exhaustion and work up a very big appetite.
Getting home and having to make lunch is sometimes worse than making breakfast. The kids are hitting that "hangry" stage, and you are running as fast as you can to make them lunch in a swift manner.
Sometimes, if we know the kids just need to get out of the house for the day, we will take them to our best friend....Chick-fil-a. Here, they will play their hearts out with random kids, but you will not care, because you remember being that age, playing with kids you did not even know.
Lunch is over, and now you are playing again— board games, costumes, in the playhouse, whatever you do, you and the kids have lots of fun. Just to show all your friends how much better your work is than theirs at times, you send the occasional snapchat picture, with a filter (which the kids love)!
Once or twice a week, we load up and head to the pool for an afternoon splish splash in the pool to cool off from the hot summer heat. When going to the pool, you have a little checklist you have to go over: pool bag, sunscreen, sunglasses, swimsuits, water toys, hats, snacks, drinks, and anything else the kids may need; because once you are there, you are not going back.
The day is almost over, so it is time to clean up...again... the moment we all dread. We turn on some tunes and have a little dance party while we are cleaning which turns into freeze dance. We laugh, watch the kids do some moves that we would probably kill ourselves if we tried, and we realize that out of all the jobs we could have for summer, ours is one of the best ones out there.
So that's it. Each day is a new adventure, but I would not want to spend my summer with many other people besides the kids who I nanny. I hope that I have taught them a lot that they need to know for their lives, but they have also taught me a lot I need to know.
