The Kids from Yesterday
January 27, 2011 at 9:47 am | Posted in Life and Living | 4 CommentsTags: babysitting, childcare, children, job, working
adventures in babysitting
It seems like a lifetime ago that my main source of income was taking care of children. For six years, I watched kids from aged 11 months up to 11 years and made really good money doing it. It was a pretty easy job most of the time (except for that summer where I watched 3 young boys — boys really are harder than girls).
I had started out working at a local day camp. I had 11 three year olds to care for with the help of two other counselors. Since the kids were so young, they were only in the program for a half day, but I still got paid for the full day. I would use the remaining time to work at Dunkin’ Donuts and hang out with my friends. It was the summertime, after all.
Most of my babysitting experience was daytime work, not much of that Saturday night babysitting that I really hated. I really got to know the kids I watched, but I only really watched them for a couple years before moving on to the next stage in my life.
My last babysitting job was when I came home from college. I had graduated early, but still had a few credits left to complete my degree, so I took my last two classes and babysat for two girls, aged 8 and 11. At that age, it’s really all about play dates and dance class, so there was a lot of chauffeuring as part of the gig. The girls were great, and I have kept in touch with them via Facebook ever since.
Recently, the older one had a status update that said she had just turned 17. When I read this, I literally almost fell out of my chair. Where had the last six years go? How did she get so old? She’s too young to drive, too young to go to college. These are things I can’t handle.
A few years ago, I ran into one of my former three year old campers. She was 11 when I saw her. It just doesn’t register in my brain that these kids have grown up. It’s a strange thing to imagine people that are younger than you aging as well.
I will always remember the kids I watched at the age that I watched them. I will always remember Mia looking like Dora the Explorer. I will always remember Jocelyn doing gymnastics in the living room. I will always remember Savannah and her love for writing. I will always remember Dakota picking on Madison. This is how these kids will always be to me, in my memory.
The title of this post is inspired by a great song from My Chemical Romance. Check it out.
Will You Remember Me?
January 25, 2011 at 7:33 am | Posted in Friends Then and Now | 8 CommentsTags: friends, high school, life, memories, reunion
A few months ago, I was walking through a local grocery store in my Sunday best (read — pajamas) picking up my food for the week. Not surprisingly, it was pretty crowded, but somehow, in the craziness, I ran into someone I knew, or rather, someone who knew me. Someone I probably should have known, but for some reason couldn’t place him right away.
Why didn’t I recognize this person? Did he really look that different… seven years ago? No, no, he didn’t…. did he? I really don’t know.
This really bothered me. One of the traits I take pride in is my ability to remember everybody, their middle name, their birthday, their address, and their mother’s name. I am the person who says to my best friend from high school, “remember so and so?” and she just doesn’t remember anybody so her answer is typically no.
So what does this all mean? Am I going to start forgetting people I knew all my life? Am I going to lose the capacity to remember the names of people I meet? Or even worse… what does this mean for those who know me? Will they forget I exist? Will they remember me?
It’s part of the human condition to want to be remembered, want to know you had an impact on somebody. That’s why we have graves. That’s why we name our children after family members. That’s why people strive to be famous (or infamous). That’s why writers want to be published (wink).
But you can’t guarantee that everyone will remember you. Some faces will fall through the cracks, even if you did hang out with them a bunch of times. And sometimes, it will just take a little bit longer to remember some people, as your brain continues to take in images of the new people entering your life. And sometimes, you’ll need to count on your friends to jog your memory.
That said, I really hope I’ve had an impact on a lot of people’s lives because a lot of people have had impacts on mine, and I plan to remember a lot of people.
So I got my first award this week…
January 22, 2011 at 12:08 pm | Posted in Uncategorized | 5 CommentsTags: awards, blogging
I was pretty excited when fellow blogger The Boyfriend Drama awarded me with the Life is Good award this week. I’ve been wondering if I would ever join the club of the decorated bloggers because let’s face it, everybody loves to be recognized for their work. Of course, with great power comes great responsibility, and now I must answer the questions that go with the award and pass it on to some deserving bloggers.
Rules:
1. Thank the person (people) that gave you the award.
2. Answer 10 survey questions.
3. Pass along the award to bloggers you think are fantastic.
4. Let those bloggers know you have given them an award.
Here we go.
1. If you blog anonymously, are you happy about doing this? If you aren’t anonymous, do you wish that you had started out anonymously, so you could be anonymous now?
I definitely don’t blog anonymously, but I have tried to move more towards my pen name in some of my outreach. I don’t think I would have had any early success blogging anonymously since my original base of fans were people that knew me. I think my content is universal enough not to put me in any real jeopardy, though I am definitely careful about how I say things (you know, to protect the innocent and all).
2. Describe the incident that shows your stubborn side.
“The” incident. Ha! I can hear my friends laughing now. I can be very, very stubborn, and for good reason. Because usually, I am right. 
3.What do you see when you really look into the mirror?
It depends on how long I look in the mirror, the time of the month, if the lights are on or off, and whether or not I am intoxicated. It ranges from super sexy and confident to a real hot mess.
4. What is your favorite cold summer drink?
I nice Corona usually does the trick, and if I’m at an Indian restaurant, a good Mango lasse… ooh and smoothies. Love smoothies.
5. When you take time for yourself, what do you do?
Writing, resting, playing with the puppy, watching mindless tv.
6. Is there something you still want to accomplish in your life?
There’s a lot I want to accomplish. Hopefully I have the time to get to it all. I am young, right?….right?
7. When you attended school, were you the class clown, the overachiever, the shy person, or always ditching?
In high school, it depended on what I could get away with and how good or bad I was at the subject. I was quiet or “missing” in the classes I did bad in. In college, I guess I was an overachiever in some ways since I graduated early, but I still managed to have fun…a lot of fun.
8. If you closed your eyes and wanted to visualize a very poignant moment in your life, what would you see?
Wow. That’s a tough one. There are so many moments that had a real effect on my life. The first ones that come to mind are actually kind of sad. I think I have to save this one for a full blown post.
9. Is it easy for you to share your true self in your blog, or are you more comfortable writing posts about other people and events?
I write about my life in a way that I feel others can relate to. I know I’m not going through unique experiences.
10. If you had a choice to sit down and read a book or talk on the phone, which would you do and why?
I’ve had a lot of trouble reading lately — I just can never clear my mind long enough to get into a good book. I usually sit down and call a friend. I keep a list of people I should call regularly in my bedroom for these occasions. Sad, but if I don’t do it that way, I sometimes don’t keep in touch.
And the winners are…
Dezolutions: I’m bias to this blog because the author is my BFF, but it’s really an inspiring, fun, and entertaining blog worthy of recognition.
Live Laugh Love: This blog is basically the epitome of this award. Very entertaining and high energy.
Sara Swears A Lot: Because this girl is just too funny.
Now it’s your turn winners. Share the love!
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