I am so excited to meet both!
Exciting news like births makes me reflect on my journey as a super sitter. I am so incredibly blessed to have been able to meet each and everyone of these families. And on top of that I am so fortunate to have come to know and cared for each and every child in these families. Everyone of them has a different quirk, personality, attitude, and smile. They all have given me memories that I will truly hold on to for years and years to come.
A few weeks ago I was helping with my mom's class. The class was taking a field trip to the local kindergarten. A family that I regularly see and care for was also on the trip. As we toured the classrooms I held the youngest child. She is at that age where she wants to be out of the stroller and running around. There were moments when she would shriek wanting to get loose of my grip but I held on firmly. My mom's co-teacher came up and cracked a joke "um, is this birth control enough for you?". It was hysterical, because to really think about it - the last 2 years have been one big birth control pill!
From meltdowns, to kids who don't like what you cooked for dinner, to 40 step bed time routines, to the 40 minutes it takes to load up the kids to go to the park, to garbage in my recently spotless car, to screaming in public, to cleaning up pee, to changing clothes every hour, to warm milk, to spilled drinks, to doing their hair, to entertaining them, and everything in between. There are times that I feel as if I am running 100 miles an hour and in reality it's only been 10 minutes. Granted, I love what I do. I believe in my heart that God led me down this path because it is my calling in life. This is where I am suppose to be right now. But there a times when I collapse in exhaustion and praise God that at the end of the day I hand them all back & go home to a quiet, clean, room. Every girl dreams that they will be a mom someday & not just "a" mom, but "mom of the year". Making healthy snacks, ensuring their kid is well educated above average, never forget anything, never late to anything, nothing every spills, they are potty trained with a simple snap of the fingers, and no tears are ever shed. Not to sound like an old mom, but I have been around enough families long enough to know that is not EVER the case. In the words of some wise smart ass out there, "Shit Happens" Nothing is perfect or ever goes as planned because kids ...are kids.
To say that I would love to have kids of my own right now would be the biggest crock of crap. I love kids, I want several of them someday. The key word being someday! The funny thing about that last statement is that is something I recently learned. When my niece SkyeLeigh Rae came along almost three years ago I was confident enough to say "I could do that". I was one of those girls who sat around watching MTV's hit show "16 & Pregnant" laughing at those girls telling the screen "I could do better then you!"
The families that I have come to know and love have taught me that - no I couldn't do that. My patience is not big enough, my understanding is not mature enough, my finances are far from ready, and to sound selfish - I am not ready to give up my life. To say I have respect for these parents would be an understatement. I love my super sitter time, and there are even days I wish I had more of it. And to sound a bit conceited- I think I spend way more time with kids and known more then the average girl my age does, but to humble myself I am far from all knowing or all expereienced. I don't know the half of it!
My super sitter days have given me countless laugh, smiles, memories, and lessons. But one of the biggest lessons I have learned is the importance of keeping my legs crossed :)
