Thoughts on Being a Professional Nanny Pt. 1

(Why Being a Nanny Is a Real Job)

Well,

Good Morning (or afternoon, evening, whenever you find time to read this) to all my friends Everywhere.

A big HELLO*

to San Francisco,

Elk River,

Phoenix,

& Denver

(and any other places my friends from these homes have moved to).

To new friends who’ve stumbled here, curious about the sweet and the hard day-to-day moments of raising children as a job for FUN…welcome.

Somehow, during a pandemic, I found my dream job.

I was Nannying in Denver during the initial lockdown, safe in a home with two beautiful kiddos that have yet to give me back my heart.

At the end of my summer contract, I found a job in my dream city. You guessed it —

San Francisco.

I absolutely love my job. Love it — E.v.e.r.y.t.h.i.n.g about it.

I come home every day spent, unlocking the door without much energy, thinking I just had The Best Day (ask my roommates).

Even though I’m not new to it, I am new to loving what I do for a living. In fact, Nannying is so incredibly freeing for me I decided to blog about it.

Before that though, I would dread being asked that inevitable, time-filler-of-a-small-talk-question,

“What do you do?”

I would answer honestly, but be cringing on the inside. There are typically four responses I would get over and over to confessing I am a career Nanny (depending on who I’m talking to). Let’s take a look together, shall we?

Hinge Date:

Me: I’m a Nanny! (Big smile, twinkle in my eye, thinking of the kiddos now…)

“Sooooo, you babysit….have you thought about going back to school?”

(WOW ITS DEFINITELY NOT ME, ITS YOU BUDDY)

Stranger:

“Full time? Did you graduate?”

(TRYING NOT TO LET MY SMILE WAVER)

Millennial Entrepreneur:

“So you graduated and that’s what you aspired to be? A nanny? Is that what you want to do for the rest of your life?”

(Side note: To this particular response I say ‘No’ because I also want to be a florist, event planner, bed and breakfast owner, gardener, backpacking guide, camp counselor, and while we’re dreaming big here, maybe even a professional rock climber).

My Friends and My Mom:

“THAT’S AWESOME! YOU’RE SO GOOD AT THAT! PARENTS ARE SO GRATEFUL FOR YOU. I LOVE HOW YOU TEACH KIDS. THAT MUST BE EXHAUSTING WORK THOUGH. HOW DO YOU DO IT?!”

(Sigh. I have really good friends).

I know a lot of people think of Nannying as babysitting and sometimes it might mean house sitting after the kids have gone to bed and the parents are out on a date night.

But if parents are searching for the perfect Nanny, they are thinking of someone knowing how deeply their children will be developmentally impacted by adding someone to their family for any period of time.

Nannies aren’t some random too-cool teen (18 years or older) twirling a phone cord while flirting with Brad (IF ANYONE KNOWS A BRAD FOR ME, DM ME) waiting for the parents to come home until they bring back order where kids were allowed to do whatever they wanted… professional nannies, the ones that act like a gift to their families, do incalculable work on the unity of the home.

I’m real excited and honored to share the joy, failures, celebrations, and growth I’ve found in being a Nanny. Thanks for listening, reading, and maybe even caring a little or a lot.

All the Joy,

Riley

*Words written in caps are not angry exclamations. My baseline emotion is: I LOVE LOVE AND WHATEVER ELSE IS PRETTY OR FUNNY OR SWEET OR INTERESTING OR FUN.