An Eye for an Eye

As a nanny, I’m a step down from being a parent in several aspects but the main one is that there's a lot less pressure. I love the comfort of knowing that the kid isn't going to grow up and resent me. No one at 25 blames their childhood nanny for the reason they're so messed up. I like (okay, love) being able to go home and do my own thang. This is more commonly known as nothing. But don’t be fooled, I still make sacrifices!

I have to make sure the child is fed and happy before I can feed myself and be happy. I have to make sure I don’t casually swear at the drop of a hat. I have to use the word "potty" in public. The life of a nanny is not as glamorous as it may seem. Sometimes when I feel like I’m getting too close to being a parent, like I’m making too many sacrifices, I need to treat myself. Just to remind myself I can. Last week we went to the farmer’s market near his house. This farmer’s market is close enough that a dizzy blind man could get there in less than 30 minutes. It took us an hour and a half. So, naturally, when I saw cookies for sale at one of the tents, I bought one to take the edge off.

This was going to be the perfect treat to eat after we got home and he was napping. Unfortunately, he caught onto my plan. Not only did he see the cookie, but he insisted that I buy the one shaped like a bunny covered in pink molasses. Whatever I thought, I’ll get the stupid bunny cookie; he’s only going to get a bite anyway. When we got the stroller I told him I would give him some of the cookie, but that this was “Anna’s Special Treat” so he only got a little bit. Of course he was greedy and wanted it all, crying ensued so, to prove a point, I didn’t give him any.

That’s not true. I did end up giving him a piece when we were half way home. Then, in an effort to avoid another meltdown but also satisfy my own desire to eat the cookie while he ate lunch, I surrounded the cookie in a barrier of cleaning products that were left on the counter for the cleaning people. Not only could he not see it but the warnings his parents spout out regularly of cleaning products would leave him too scared to venture over to see what I was reaching for intermittently.

I TOLD YOU I make sacrifices. I put my own health in danger by storing my food within a chemical fortress in order to avoid sharing. #therealsupernanny. <-- this reminds me! Follow me on twitter at senny24 because I misuse and overuse hashtags all day long!