Nannying

To be completely honest, since God changed the direction of my life during my sophomore year of high school, I never expected to work outside the home. I didn’t really count missions as “work” and I intended to spend most of my time at home between the time I graduated and the time I got married.

 

But sometimes God throws curveballs into our lives. In January of this past year, I was asked to babysit the kids during my parents Life Group meeting (a weekly adult Bible Study our church does instead of Sunday Schools.) I got to know quite a few of the families at our church, and started to get asked to babysit for them more often.

 

I really connected with one of the kids I watched. He was 2-years-old at the time, I fell in love with his sweet baby voice and blonde curls. J Life Group ended in June, and we had our end-of-the-year party. His Mom approached me and asked if I would mind babysitting him and his 9-month-old brother so that her and her husband could go on a date night.

 

I did watch the boys for her a couple times, and then she asked if I would be interested in watching them 2 days a week (about 12 hours total) while she worked out, went to appointments, grocery shopped, and worked with her husband (they have their own dental practice.) I took some time to think about it, since I had never worked for someone else outside the home. But because I knew the family, they were Christians, the hours were reasonable, watching children is good preparation for motherhood, it was summer time, and I was free, I agreed to it.

 

Partway through the summer, another woman she works out with asked if I would watch her 3-year-old girl along with the 2 boys. I happily agreed, and watched all 3 kids over the summer.

 

I had intended to quit in the fall because I was starting my internship at church (more on that another time) and I wasn’t sure how much of my time that would demand. But the Pastor I was interning for talked with me, and told me that I didn’t need to quit nannying if I didn’t want to. After some consideration, and talking with my boss, I decided to continue nannying. Because the oldest boy is in preschool, I’m now only watching the 1-year-old for about 4 hours a week.

 

So that’s how I got started as a nanny! I have really enjoyed the experience, and know that it is helping me prepare for my future as a wife and Mom.