I hate you, Amanda.
The very first thing another human being said to me this morning was: "I hate you, Amanda." It occurred to me later that a lot of mornings begin this way. Actually, most mornings.
Let me explain:
I wake up at 5:45am every day in order to be at work (aka the house where I nanny) by 7:00am. I have a key, and when I get into the house, it is my responsibility to wake everyone up. I have come to realize that the only thing worse than being woken up at 7:00am is being the person who has to do the waking up. (Talk about shooting the messenger). I try to be gentle and comforting because I am not a morning person either, so I can totally relate to the kids when they want to stay in their warm beds. I walk into the boys' rooms, sit on their bed, rub their backs, and whisper into their ears, "Good morning sunshine." It's at this point, when they open their eyes, turn their faces toward me and say, "I hate you, Amanda." I am not exaggerating. This happens more days than not. Occasionally the "I hate you" will be replaced with a "You're stupid" from JJ or a "Not you" from K. If I'm lucky, they just grunt.
The only redeeming part of this whole waking up process is that when I go to pick up baby JT, he yells, "Manna!" and comes running to me with open arms. It is adorable. I think his reaction to seeing me is mostly because he knows I'm the one who will change his wet diaper, but whatev, I'll take it.
I guess as far as character-building goes, I am at least getting a thicker skin..? The constant "I hate you's" and "you're the worst babysitter ever" used to really get me down, but now they hardly phase me. And when I get an unexpected hug or overhear one of the boys tell their friends, "My babysitter is really good at drawing sharks," I know that they really mean it.
Note: I hope that someday.. eventually.. in the [quite possibly] very distant future, I get to have the kind of mornings where I roll over in my own warm bed at 7:00am and hear "I love you, Amanda" instead. I think I'll really appreciate it.
Let me explain:
I wake up at 5:45am every day in order to be at work (aka the house where I nanny) by 7:00am. I have a key, and when I get into the house, it is my responsibility to wake everyone up. I have come to realize that the only thing worse than being woken up at 7:00am is being the person who has to do the waking up. (Talk about shooting the messenger). I try to be gentle and comforting because I am not a morning person either, so I can totally relate to the kids when they want to stay in their warm beds. I walk into the boys' rooms, sit on their bed, rub their backs, and whisper into their ears, "Good morning sunshine." It's at this point, when they open their eyes, turn their faces toward me and say, "I hate you, Amanda." I am not exaggerating. This happens more days than not. Occasionally the "I hate you" will be replaced with a "You're stupid" from JJ or a "Not you" from K. If I'm lucky, they just grunt.
The only redeeming part of this whole waking up process is that when I go to pick up baby JT, he yells, "Manna!" and comes running to me with open arms. It is adorable. I think his reaction to seeing me is mostly because he knows I'm the one who will change his wet diaper, but whatev, I'll take it.
I guess as far as character-building goes, I am at least getting a thicker skin..? The constant "I hate you's" and "you're the worst babysitter ever" used to really get me down, but now they hardly phase me. And when I get an unexpected hug or overhear one of the boys tell their friends, "My babysitter is really good at drawing sharks," I know that they really mean it.
Note: I hope that someday.. eventually.. in the [quite possibly] very distant future, I get to have the kind of mornings where I roll over in my own warm bed at 7:00am and hear "I love you, Amanda" instead. I think I'll really appreciate it.
Comments
Post a Comment
Leave me a message!