Moving forward, Looking back

Today is my lst official day as a full-time nanny. It has been 10 months since I started this job with these three families, and what a ride it has been. It has been much more challenging than I ever thought it would be, but it has also been so much more rewarding that I could have ever expected.

The three families I worked for were all extremely different in terms of parenting styles, foods eaten, schedules, styles of discipline, and common activities for the kids. This was a major challenge in itself, because I was constantly adjusting to going back and forth betwee each one as each day and week passed. Even something as simple as what each kid called going to the bathroom, be it "going to the potty, making a fountain, or using the bathroom" was hard for me to keep track of and consistent for each indidividual at times. During my ten months, all three, three- year-old, boys were successfully potty trained. They all took different routes, and there were times, I admit, that I never thought they'd learn how to pull up their pants, much less actually use the toilet. I never could have imagined the satisfaction and feeling of success that a potty trained kid can bring, until I experience this with them and with their parents.

I often thought of these three boys, the three-year-olds, in terms of how they filled something up. I mean this in the most literal sense, of filling up a bucket with sand, or a glass with water. C, who is extremely smart and overly cautious, would fill something up about a half inch below the top of whatever he was pouring into. K, who is pretty well rounded and easy going, would fill it up pretty much exactly to the line. L, who is a wild child and likes to screech and laugh most of the time, would just keep pouring the sand or water into the bucket until there was nothing left in the original container, no matter how much it overflowed. These simple observations say so much about their personalities and temperments, and give me a little bit of a sense of what they will be like when they're older.

The younger siblings of these three boys really came a long way in the ten months as well. When I started working, T (K's little brother) was only 5 months old. He couldn't sit up yet, and taking care of him pretty much consisted of bottle feedings and diaper changing, and putting him in a bouncy seat. Now he is 15 months old, and went from sitting up to crawling to walking, to running in that short time. He now has such a strong, bubbly personality and loves to joke and laugh.

A (L's little brother) was just shy of 15 months old when I started, and wasn't walking yet. He started at about 18 months old, and is now running all over the place, like any almost two-year-old. He also started talking over the past ten months and now has a very large vocabulary. He recently started saying my name, which comes out as "Sah", but is unmistakeable. A loves to climb things and horse around. He does well at keeping up with his big brother, who I think likes him a lot better now that they can play together.

Baby A (C's little sister) was not even born yet when I started working for her family. She was born in January, a couple weeks later than expected. She just turned 6 months old, and despite a lot of health problems related to her digestive system, is one of the happiest babies I've ever met. She smiles and shrieks and giggles, pretty much all the time. She went from being a tiny little floppy baby, to a big round chubby, jolly little girl. It amazes me that when I first met her family, she wasn't even out in the world yet.

I could go on and on about the wonders of watching these kids grow over the past year. I sometimes think about how I could create a whole resume based on the last ten months that includes skills such as being an expert wooden railroad track builder, making up dozens of stories on the spot, drawing all sorts of things by request (even when I'm not quite sure what they are), getting kids to eat things they've never tried, successful potty training, and best of all:finding patience and energy when I feel like there is nothing left in me.

I am so grateful to these six children and their families for what they have given me this year. I plan to keep in touch with them and continue watching them occasionally while I am in grad school next year. I sure will miss their happy little faces running to the door when I walk in. I wonder if there is any better way to start work than that.