You must read this.
RAWRRRRR.
I hate working in childcare.
The two girls I watch now… I do NOT get paid enough to do this. They’re eleven and twelve, so you’d think I wouldn’t have much to do. HA!! I have more behavioral problems to correct, more yelling to do, more high freaking blood pressure than when I take care of the four and ten year olds. First? I have to repeat myself three hundred times just to get them to listen. THEY ARE ELEVEN AND TWELVE YEAR OLD GIRLS. WTF? And that’s when they take their meds! Second? I have never seen any siblings fight like they do. It is absolutely ridiculous. I think, perhaps because they’re so close in age, neither of them knows when to stop. I don’t really give a damn what the reason is… they need to learn to shut the hell up, because nothing that comes out of either of their mouths can be classified as civil. Third? Apparently, no one has taught them how to behave in public. You know, arguing and running around in their own home is irritating enough, but through STORES? ARE YOU KIDDING ME? And they legitimately don’t understand why I won’t take them anywhere, even after I attempt to explain. Fourth? They very rarely listen to anything I say. I’m not the real docile, walk-all-over type of nanny. Both of them know it, neither of them care. Fifth? THEIR MOTHER. I like her as a person, I really do, but she is one of those parents who uses empty threats. She never follows through! DO YOU KNOW HOW HARD THAT MAKES MY LIFE?! Not to mention the lives of their poor teachers, friends’ parents, extended relatives, etc! They know that with me, they get one warning, and after that, whatever privilege I threatened them with is gone. End of story. Not so with their mom, and I don’t know if it’s because she honestly forgets (which is still a really bad excuse), or if it’s because she feels guilty for being the only parent and not having a father for them (which is an even worse excuse.) Sixth? Seriously, I do not get paid enough for this job. Little kids’ parents typically pay more for nannies, but in this case, I should be getting a higher salary for having to practically parent her children, because she won’t. Mari asked me a few days ago, that if I’m going into Psychology, why I’m not better at controlling them. (Took a hell of a lot of restraint not to punch her.) I told her I don’t get paid nearly enough to ‘train’ them, not to mention that THAT’S NOT WHAT PSYCHOLOGISTS DO. ARLJFADLFJLSAJF!!!!!!
Then the four and ten year olds… honestly, they are typical boys, but they are relatively respectful, know how/when to behave, and heed their warnings 100% of the time. Unfortunately, it’s their parents I can’t stand. Having had three of the same babysitters for the past eight years I believe has made them forget how hard it is to find good ones, and how important it is to treat them right. I DON’T want to be told you’ll be back at eleven, only to have you show up at one. Not only does that show me extreme disrespect, but I HAVE A LIFE TOO! I have plans, I have a schedule, I have school, I have work. I’d be perfectly fine if this was a one-time thing, but 90% of your nights out partying end this way… with me having the police non-emergency number handy in case you’re dead in a ditch or something. I have enough damn stress in my life, thank you very much, than to have to worry about YOU, adults in your, what, 40s??
My mom knew the value of a good nanny, which she showed by paying very well, getting home on time, giving presents for Christmas/thanks for a great year. Being on the side of job hunting, finding these kinds of parents is like finding a needle in a haystack… next to impossible. I don’t have to be paid a fortune, but you’re leaving me with your CHILDREN. They are always alive and happy when you get home, so show me a little damn respect and gratitude.
daaaaaaay.
When I woke up this morning, I had already determined it would be a shitty day. I was supposed to wake up at 6, take my car into Toyota by 7:30 thanks to my tire pressure light coming on (which is WTF-worthy since I just got new tires three months ago), drive 45 minutes to class from 11-12:15, nanny two out-of-control sixth- and seventh-graders from 12:30-6:30, and babysit from 8-12 back home. An exhausting, long day, right?
Okay, yeah, it’s 10:30pm and now I’m feeling it. I almost went back to sleep after my car was finished and skipped class, but I DIDN’T! I went, and not only that, I went 40 minutes early and treated myself to coffee (plus the Panera bagel I ate before I left town.) My professor is really interesting, and he brings up a lot of points that many other Psych professors don’t (like the fact that Psychology is the only science field that needs to hike up their actual scientific research, not just make shit up.) We went through research methods, which generally makes me fall asleep since I don’t know HOW many classes I’ve taken throughout my school career that go over that. He had a bunch of hilarious anecdotes to go along with the lecture, and my eyelids definitely didn’t even come close to shutting.
So I get out of class and am dreading nannying. These girls are a handful, and that would be an understatement. I was their fall semester nanny; I eventually had to actually write out rules, privileges, and consequences for them- they were that out of hand. (At ages ten and eleven!) Then when I left in the spring, they got a different nanny, who apparently didn’t do anything. They’re back to their old ways of being absolutely uncontrollable and ridiculously embarrassing in public, most of the time. Unfortunately, I’m only watching them a total of three weeks this summer, and not consecutively, so it’ll be hard to “retrain” them. ANYWAY- back to today. Blah blah blah, I get to their house and I’m starving, so I run back across the street to Einstein Bros. Pretty much as soon as I walk back in the door, my phone rings, and it’s Emma, whom I’m also supposed to be nannying this week. She needs to go to Target, and luckily for me, Mari and her friend Mia wanted to buy Cheetos… so I drag the two of them, plus Allie, out to pick up Emma. She gets in the car all WTF? cause apparently I forgot to tell her I’m also watching them. We go to Target, don’t get kicked out (success), then go to Panera. Now, these kids are all POLAR OPPOSITES from each other. Like, you could not have four different kids in the same car. And at Panera? They all talked and giggled like they had been friends forever! I had to take Emma home after that to get her to a birthday party, but then I dragged the other three to their little town pool. We hung out there for a good three hours in the beautiful, hot weather; the girls ran into a million friends and left me to my book. YEA!
An hour drive home, and I had enough time to stop by my house and get some food/talk to my mother. She was in a good mood (win), she made me grilled cheese (double win), and I found out both me and baby can stay on her insurance for awhile (triple win.) Ran off to babysit Jack and Charlie after that… which is where I am sitting now, on their couch. Charlie and I played with trains for for-ev-er, he beat me in matching, we made words in the bath, ate Bomb Pops, and shot each other (and his brother) with Nerf guns. I am SO their favorite babysitter.
Isn’t it ironic how your most dreaded day can turn out to be great, even when you’ve barely had any sleep?
Free spirit?
Tori likes to remind me that I’m “a real free spirit.” One who hates being tied down, one who enjoys frequently switching jobs and uprooting her life. And, she’s right, but more in the sense that I’m not searching for change… I’m chasing after happiness. I feel like I’m never completely content, and I KNOW you’re supposed find the joy in what you have. BUT I CAN’T. I always want something more.
My cousins are hilariously amazing. Not a day goes by that I don’t appreciate being so close to them, getting the chance to be a part of their family. But? The rest of the people I love are in Kansas. I left to get away from them… but was that the best idea? What about the saying, “you can run away, but you can’t ever run away from your problems”? I’ve loved the distance from the drama, the distance from the people in general. Now, though, I’m having a hard time figuring out if I want to stay in Tulsa or move back to Kansas.
There are some pressing issues in my life that would pretty much need me to move back. I honestly think that’s the best course of action for my current situation. I’d love to elaborate, but others deserve to know before the rest of the Internet. The deal is, I’d come back here, finish my vet tech degree by Fall 2011/Spring 2012, and when my parents move… maybe I will, too. At that point, both Will and Amy will be off to college somewhere. I don’t know where I’d go yet (obviously.) Or even if I will.
The only, ONLY thing that is REALLY holding me back from moving to Kansas again is leaving my cousins. This is going to crush all of them, not to mention me!! I wish, so badly, that they would move up a state, instead of just moving to a new house in Tulsa. I love being close to them. I love being Amy and Erin’s sounding board, their rock, their big sister. I love how Logan knows me, can say my name. I love playing football with Jason and mercilessly teasing him about his girlfriends. I love fighting over the TV remote with Kelsi and eating late-night bagels with Sarah.
And now, writing that paragraph… now… now, I’m even less certain than I was earlier.
