My Nanny’s Diary

When both of your parents have full time jobs and spends only a quarter of their time at home with their kids, the best solution is to get a nanny. Compared to my other siblings, which most of them had 3 to 4 nannies (one at a time cause my mom gave them time to study at night school), I on the other hand only had one. (Maybe I’m not as brat as I thought, compared to my other siblings, lol!). The reason we had nannies before was due to family business. My parents entered a lot of businesses aside from their day job like a restaurant in front of our house, entering some goods at the school canteen (like pugo and assorted candies), small piggery, cooking and selling meals to our boarders living beside our house. My parents definitely needed some help then.

But my nanny compared again to my siblings’ nannies was MUCH stricter but she never hit me, maybe once or I can’t remember. She’s strict in a way that she often scares me every time I don’t go to sleep at afternoon or when I don’t eat my veggies. One time she chased me running around the house and at the backyard cause I didn’t want to go to sleep. She’s strict that I had less play time, more on read, homework and sleep time.

But she will always wait for me at the gate of my nursery and prep school, carrying an extra white shirt and a towel. I remember her helping me to get dressed up for a Sunday mass and I forgot how to tie my shoe laces and told me I was old enough to do it by myself with matching eyes open wide. When I have tantrum attacks at the church, she will always give me a strict look. I know she just cares.

Definitely, there were unforgettable moments my nanny did and up to now it makes me laugh every time I’m recalling it. Like, I had flu once and she asked me to drink a cup of pure Sunny Orange juice. There was also a time that I was sick and she was doing the laundry and when I had the chance and sneaked out of my bedroom, I drank half a bottle of Naprex (a liquid preparation of paracetamol for kids) and she really really panicked. Remember the earthquake last 1990? I had my nursery classes that morning then that afternoon I fell asleep, my nanny felt the earth moving while doing her deed at the restroom and she hurriedly ran to my bedroom and woke me up. Of course the time that I had my nursery and kinder presentations for dancing, she’s my coach. I’ll just present my polished performances to my parents when they got home. When I was young I really don’t like taking pictures and there was a time that me and my siblings will have our pictures taken together, I cried so much cause I hated my pictures to be taken and with just one terrorizing look my nanny gave me, it was a cue I have to behave. (I still have those pictures and there was one that all my 3 siblings were smiling and you can only see my feet cause I was hiding at their back. Lol!)

When I was 6, I entered grade one where my mom teaches. As the summer ended, before that school year starts, me and my nanny parted ways. But my nanny still visited us every after Christmas day up to now. I haven’t managed to have a real talk to her though. Maybe I’m too shy she’ll recall everything. Every year I see her smile, I know she recalls most of the things I did at the same time I guess she remember hers as well. She has 4 kids now, just like us. I guess she’s so trained of raising a kid before she even got married. Imagine raising a brat like me. hehehe

I was thinking of giving her something this year. But I don’t have an idea yet. What you think?