nanny fo fanny

OKay, I’m going to start with the grumpy part

………

Since the weather has been warmer, pool days have begun.

it sounds like a luxury to be at work and be able to swim, however i hate pools.

I hate pools full of children with water that tastes like sunscreen and salt with oil floats on top.

I hate getting to the pool and finding that it’s freezing and about to rain.

I hate being a living bouey for the jillion kids in the pool while their mother’s/nanny’s sleep in the chairs.

I hate random children who wrap their arms around my neck in fear for their lives as I look around to make sure no one’s going to sue me for touching their child.

I hate being in a bathing suit in public.

and last but  not least I hate the little boys who make it a game to splash and cannon dive water into my contacts.

so I sit there and do my duty like a drowned rat/ bitter sea monster…and when that swim team whistle blows…adios nasty pool spawn- I’m going to go gargle Listerine and not think about what I just swam in.

 

 

okay the grumpy is over

no really, I  have a job. and I get to spend time outdoors. That is a score.

 

One thing I’m frequently confronted by is my role in curbing thoughts. I’ve never been a good judge of age groups, what an age can and can’t understand. I find myself wanting to go into lengthy discussions about topics that are touch while in reality…a six year old isn’t going to get it. I know for my own kids, I’d bring up conversations so they might recall the right thing later. If you’re a nanny, there can always be sticky situations later…like “why did you talk to my kid about hell”. “what do you mean you told them the tooth fairy isnt real” ect ect. (I haven’t done either of those fyi)

 

 

A few weeks ago I was informed by butterfly princess:

“I am going to have a beautiful wedding one day. my husband will have brown eyes and brown hair. my bridesmaids will wear light blue with little flowers on the dress and I will have a pretty white dress with flowers everywhere and a big big ring. I’m going to be a world famous ballerina/ violinist. We will have a  house boat and several horses that live with us on the boat.”

“ what if you met a really nice guy without brown hair and brown eyes?”

“well he could have blue eyes if he has a candy factory”

“what if he had a candy factory but he was ugly?”

*stares at me like I’m crazy

I wanted to explain to her so bad what marriage is more about than hot princes, lovely homes, and fulfilled dreams. What distractions and money wasters weddings can be….but you can’t really talk to a kid about marriage…it’s a little uncomprehendable. Neither do I want to squash her dreams.  I do try to throw out the idea to her that her prince is a person and marriage is a relationship. I said,

“butterfly princess,  I hope you find a God fearing man, swoonworthy or not. I hope he’s gentle and kind and honest. I hope you are best friends. I hope you will go to God to make things work. “

(and if he can’t be any of those things, I really hope he has a candy factory.)

 

…………

Also that day while we were driving , she had the creativity to make up a song for me. It started with a simple statement:

“sarah you’re weird. “ 

Followed by giggles.

and the rest of the song went: weird sarah weird sarah weird sarah”

This kept up until we reached our destination. I thought the lyrics were delightful so I chimed in with her in a false baritone.

I then had to explain to her why I didn’t care about being weird and how I thought weird was a good thing.

………..

Today I wore a high waisted dress. butterfly princess put her hands on my tummy and exclaimed

“ it looks like there's a baby in there!”

I laughed and told her I hope not, unless it was a baby husky

* very confused face

Not wanting to get into a discussion with a six year old about why I didn’t want a baby/kids, I just left that one at that.

 

Also at bedtime, I have a tradition of playing truth and truth, she gets to ask me anything and I get to ask her anything. Today I asked her what she would wish for with three wishes from a magic lamp.

1. to be rich

2. to be a grown up

3. to be queen

Poor kid, I wanted to explain to her so bad that none of those things will make you happy. I sort of tried too by having her think about what she asked for but it ended up with a definitive , nope, I’m pretty sure if I’m rich I’ll be okay.

 

They make me laugh so much. I laugh because she is so assertive. It’s a wonderful privilege to be assertive..I never was the positive and bold little individual. I was always too shy and to unsure. I’m so glad to see children that feel confident and loved and accepted. ..not afraid to share their observations on life. I just hope that they'll think through the little things…not even now, but later, enjoying the innocence that is childhood . Sometimes I wonder what she’ll remember from the important conversations.