Today is officially the one year mark with my job as Max's nanny. I could not be more grateful for what this last year of my life has given to me. Max is a sweet, bright, and loveable boy who I couldn't imagine my life without now. I know that the time will come when I can no longer be his nanny (I need to do something with the large bachelor's degree gathering dust in my basement), but I just know that him and his parents will always be in my life. In terms of everything about my job, I am very lucky and boy, do I know it. Not everyone who is a nanny ends up with the perfect family, not every kid is as great or as easy of a kid as Max is, and not every person who wants to be a nanny can find a job. I used sittercity through recommendation from my college house mate who used it to find the family she permanently babysat for throughout high school and on college breaks. I went on a lot of interviews in college for a part time sitting position through this website. I declined a lot of jobs, I wasn't called back on a few (which was usually a relief because I didn't absolutely love the family or the kids), and at times there were moms or dads who contacted me that either lived too far away or needed more hours than I could give. I did get one babysitting job eventually with an adorable boy who was not even a year old at the time. Though the family paid great and the kid was awesome, I usually only spent about a half hour with him before his mom put him to bed and they went out. I can't complain though. It was nice to see sittercity finally work for me and my schedule, and I got paid to do my school work.
After I graduated from school, I looked for teaching jobs but had zero success. I didn't get any interviews, I didn't even get emails back when I asked about the status of my applications. I activated my sittercity account again and began getting interviews. During this time I was working thirty hours a week at a boutique at my local mall. I'd had the job for two years and worked through all of my college breaks, but as a permanent job it just wasn't doing it for me. I worked for a very ungrateful man who was money hungry and didn't care much about the employees of his "family based business" (ironic, isn't it?) I wanted out, especially because I needed more than eight dollars an hour to live (even living with my parents rent free it was peanuts and not enough money for me to get by on).
I haven't shared this type of thing here on the blog because it isn't really the type of content I normally share. However, I do share a lot about myself and I'm always honest about what I share, so I figure this post is the best one to include this little story. After an upset at this job (one of the owner's stores had to close and he basically fired all of my friends that worked at that location), I said a few things about how disgusted and upset I was about the situation. It made me feel so disposable to these people that I dedicated so much of my time to over the last two years. I was good at my job, but treatment like that was certainly not going to keep my work ethic honest. A lesson, friends: you really can't trust too many people. It's hard for someone like me to really remind myself of this fact because I trust very easily, too easily. The things I said in my moment of anger that weekend got back to the owner of the store and to my not-so-surprise-after-the-fact-even-though-I'm-not-the-girl-who-gets-fired I was fired on the following Monday.
That brings me back to sittercity. That Monday, mere hours before I was fired from my only job at the time, I received an email from a woman who lived less than a mile away from me who needed a nanny for her son. Her description of the job sounded perfect, the hours were long but I'd have Fridays off, and the pay bracket she displayed on her profile was right where I needed it to be to more than double my weekly retail salary. I responded with a resounding yes please and the interview was set up for Friday. After I was fired, I drove home in a fit of rage that is so laughable (the reason I was angry was because I wanted to be the one to quit my job and have the last word, not because I was fired) and as soon as I walked through my front door I got a call from the woman who emailed me earlier that day. Her and her husband were in the car on the way home from work and they wanted to know more about me.
Of course the first thought I had was, "do I tell them why I'm out of breath and sounding a little "I hate the world" right now?" I did. If I could do it all over again, I'd still tell them. It was important for me to be honest and let them know what happened because I think that it shows the type of person I am. I won't stand to be wronged and I won't work in an environment that makes me feel uncomfortable, disposable, and cheap. Even though I didn't quit myself, my days were numbered and they honestly did me a favor by letting me go. By telling them all of this, I think I made it clear that I work hard no matter what, but refuse to be used anymore. I interviewed for the job that Friday and met Max - my best friend, the love of my life, the sweetest boy in the world who has filled my life with so much joy. I got the job on Sunday and started on Monday.
Though I do believe in everything happening for a reason and kind of in fate a little bit, I know that sittercity is really who I have to thank for this job. If I hadn't put my profile back up, who knows where the hell I'd be now. Max's parents found me at the exact right time. They needed me and I needed them and that's exactly how this site works. It's so simple. I wholeheartedly recommend this website to anyone looking for a babysitting or nanny job, or for any moms or dads who need an extra set of hands with their kids. I have been so very blessed to have this job for the last year, and I am so thankful to sittercity for giving me the opportunity to put myself out there in a unique way and find exactly what I needed. To them I owe some of the happiest moments of the last year, maybe even of my life.
*this is not a sponsored post. I love sittercity and all it does to help families find nannies and vice versa. I recommend this site because it is totally my own opinion that it is a wonderful way to find what you need when it comes to childcare (or special needs or pet care).
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