Moving on

Doesn’t everything look more adorable in children’s handwriting?

I spent a large chunk of the past seven years as a nanny for such a wonderful family.  To try and list what was so great about the whole experience would take so very long, but I’ll try to highlight it.

TC was just 10 months old when I met him and his parents in August of 2004.  I’d only had a few interviews with different families, but the interview with the D family was the only interview before which Dan gave me a card, sure the family would love me and that I’d love them.  He was right!  We were both looking for a quick placement, and though I didn’t have experience nannying younger children, it seemed like a good fit and that’s where it began.

Ev came along the following April and we had a fun summer with Libby at home.  The next year and a half were a lot of fun, tons of playdates, park time, children’s museum and the zoo.  After a while I started wanting something more, career wise and they were super supportive.  A friend of mine took over as their nanny and I worked as a temp, a “free-lance” nanny and did a little exploring, but I missed the kids.  I went back after about six months. 

TC was then in preschool and Evie and I had a lot of fun times together, she’ll even tell you that we’ve had our fair share of coffee dates. :)  Another year and a half passed, we had bought a house and I left (again!) to try my hand at in-home daycare – again they were incredibly supportive and were cheering me on.  It was very different from being a nanny and though it had it’s good times, our area wasn’t great for starting a new daycare.  We sold our house, had a gorgeous baby girl (I’m pretty sure you’re familiar with her) and when she was 5 months old, I was fortunate enough to go back to work with the kids, now three including Davis, with Sophia in tow. 

They took me as their nanny THIRD time AND they were letting me bring my sweet baby girl along three days a week. 

It’s hard to believe that was 20 months ago and that now I’m done as their nanny for the last time.  My last day with the kids was beyond great.  I took a few hours in the morning to get an ultrasound and check on our soon-to-arrive daughter.  I went through the McDonald’s drive-thru for Happy Meals for Davis and Sophia’s last lunch date, and then was sent for the wonderful gift of a spa pedicure.  At the end of the day there was a great celebration with Woulette’s cupcakes, a singing of “She’s a jolly good nanny,” a gift and lots of hugs. 

I was shocked that I wasn’t in tears all day long, especially considering the hormones running through me right now.  They popped up here and there, but all in all it was just a very, very happy day appreciating all that I remembered from the past seven years. I’ve never felt so peaceful about moving on from this job, and obviously, I have a bit of practice in doing so! :) The other two times, I left in a pile of tears unsure if I’d made the right decision. 

The most comforting part of leaving the three D kids is that I will always know them and the relationship changes to one of family friends.  I can’t wait to see how they grow and change and where they end up. 

This is such a great time to move onto something new, to look forward to our family growing again and to enjoy the next couple months as we figure out what the future looks like for our family.