Anyone who talks for me for 10+ minutes will know at least three things about me.

1: I play softball (when I say "play" I mean "dedicated most of my life to").

2: I think my parents are so rad, in many ways and for many different reasons.

3: I have a crazy amount of love for kids.

Yes, I am the girl who makes friends with the giggly two-year-old in the the line at Target and whose lap gets randomly sat on at a basketball games by little girls who just want someone to babble to (yes, that really did happen).

And while I love kids in general, there are a select few monsters who have impacted my life in numerous ways.

Playing a competitive sport for half of my life made it impossible to snag a job at a grocery store or a restaurant, I mean who wants to hire a teenager who needs every weekend off in the summer PLUS practice a couple times a week? Nobody, that's who. Thus came the babysitting. Honestly I can't remember a time I didn't have cousins I had to look after or family friends where I was the oldest out of the bunch therefore I had to watch the other kids, but when I was 15 it became less of a thing I did at family events and more of a job where I worked for different families and got paid.

While most of the money I've acquired the last five years has been from babysitting, I've been given so much more than a paycheck.

I've learned a whole new definition to the word patience. Whether the kids are cleaning up a disastrous playroom one little lego at a time or when their learning how to read and a seven-page children's book takes 30 minutes to get through. These kids have taught me to take a breath and encourage, rather than take over. I may not have the patience to hit a change up, but I can promise you that I will always have time to listen to a kid stutter through a story about their day.

I've got a whole new meaning to the word joy. There's the joy I feel from getting an A on a test (because that rarely happens) or the joy I get from getting a good hit in a big game. But there's an entirely different feeling of joy when the little girl you babysit starts "going on the big girl potty" and you're so incredibly proud of her. Or when they learn how to read and write and want to write you letters when you're away at school *tear*. I've learned a new type of joy from being there when the kids I watch learn to play a new song on their violin or even learn something little like how to write their name.

Finally,

I've learned a whole new type of love. A love that comes from watching a tiny baby human grow up into this smart, hilarious 4 year old that has nothing but smiles and kisses for you. One that you feel when you arrive at their house and they're already outside in the driveway screaming your name because they can't wait to play with you and show you all their new toys. One that allows me to be there for these kids as they grow up not as a parental figure, but as a friendly face they trust. A love that sometimes makes me fear that I won't be able to love my future children as much as I love these kids because they're THAT special.

So yes, I am THAT girl who is obsessed with the kids she babysits. But I only have the amazing parents who allow me to take care of the most important things in their lives to blame. Kids have the power to change how you chose to see things and while they're G R E A T birth control, I can't wait to have my own some day (and by "some day" I mean years upon years in the future).