So I've been a nanny almost my entire adult life and when I recently went back to work for a family that I previously worked for, I was thankful. When they made the decision to move, I too had a decision to make. I decided to return to being a stay at home wife.
The privilege of this is not lost on me, I know that I am beyond blessed to be able to have this choice that I can just make freely. As I was deciding this, I thought about the honor that I've had over the past year of raising these two beautiful children (a set of twins). This particular family was one of my longest continuous nanny jobs (14 months with a few months that I took off but we were still in constant contact) they truly became like family.
On my last day with them, I pushed the double stroller to OUR FAVORITE PARK and as I unbuckled them I thought about how a year ago I took them to this same park and they couldn't walk and now here we are. It was a hard day, hard for me to leave them, I was there when they took their first steps, I taught them to name all the colors. It was like a piece of me was being left behind.
Not that they ever felt like "my babies" but I've been thinking about all of the babies I've raised over the years, all of the children who I had the privilege of being in their life while their parents had to go to work. I've raised a lot of kids over the years and while my husband and I have already discussed when we have kids I will stay home and raise ours, it is something exceptional.
As a nanny you come in a fill a gap for parents and I always try to encourage creative learning. I come in and sing songs and teach them things as we draw and learn and create and I hope they carry some of that creativity into their adolescents but the truth is I DON'T KNOW.
Now with these babies, our families are very close they very graciously gifted all of their baby stuff for future baby Fritz* to use one day and have offered to fly me to see them (I leave for the first time in a few weeks!) I will get to see them grow up, and I'm so thankful for that. Maybe that is what parenthood is though, you do your best with the time you have and then you send them off in the world.
I'm at peace with all of the children that I've raised, I'm so honored to have had this time with them, and even if they don't remember me, I'll always remember them. :)
*Just a little disclaimer - Future Baby Fritz is still several years away! We are storing all of the non-expiring gear in a storage unit.
Post a Comment
I LOVE Comments! Leave me one?