I Am A Nanny

   I was in between jobs when a friend of my husband told him he needed a babysitter.  I took the job to help them out until they found someone else.  Little did I know that it would take them 2 ½ years to do so.  That is how I became a nanny for the Dickman family.   

The children I looked after were Cearra, age 3 and Brett, age 10.  Both children are hyperactive Cearra was the mischievous child; Brett liked to talk people to death.  I suppose that is normal with any child.  Cearra was an adult disguised as a toddler most of the time; she is extremely intelligent.  Cearra never seemed to sleep, she is up 24 hours a day and into everything!  Cearra and Brett are very loving.  Cearra actually comforted “me” when my cat died and I felt better after receiving her hug and reassurance that my cat would come home.  One day Cearra and I watched a video starring Tom Hanks; the movie title was "Turner and Hooch".  At the end of the movie the dog--Hooch dies.  When this happened, Cearra (then age 4) cried she understood death and to me that was sad.  I loved Cearra up and hide the video.  Cearra is in “the dog did it stage” of development.  If you are a parent, you know what stage this is...it is cute and annoying at the same time. 

Brett is at times an over zealous organizing-type people person.  He loved to organize our trips to the beach and another thing…that child could get me to do anything; he had this way of looking at me with a pout look and the flash of those big blue eyes.  On Mother’s Day he made me breakfast, he was such a loving boy.  Brett and I made each other laugh, he was my little buddy, my best friend and for the time that I looked after him I was his best friend.    When Brett turned twelve he entered the “what-huh?” stage.  This is a stage that causes kids zone out.  You talk to them but no one is home unless they want to be.  They are constantly making you repeat yourself.  Parents, get use to hearing “what?”  “Huh?”  That is how teenagers talk.  

Both of the Dickman children are accident-prone (1996).  I have never seen children fall as much as these two do.  They can walk on a flat surface and suddenly fall on their face hands down at their sides. How do children do that?  Cearra and Brett have bruises on their arms and skinned knees all the time.  I hope they grow out of this stage soon. Have you ever noticed how children suck the life out of you?  There are times when caring for these children really wears me down. When this happens I get out the rope and tie them up.  Then I put my head in the oven and turn on the gas.  But, then the children, laugh, and say something cute and that gets me to snap out of it. 

I thought it would be fun to give the children Indian names.  So, I named Cearra “Puddle Walker” because she likes to walk in puddles and I call Brett “Falls A Lot” I don’t have to explain that one!   I am “Screams A Lot” - no relation.  Brett doesn't like his name, but Cearra loves her name.

Boldly going where no man has gone: Brett, Cearra and I love to do things together, like adventure walks, going to the beach, parks, museums, playing computer games, and back road exploration.  In regards to the latter, Mr. Dickman is grateful that my truck is not a four-wheel drive.  Who knows what mischief we could get into!

I taught the children how to mud walk, it is like the dance step moonwalk, but you do it in reverse and on muddy hills.  We don't get anywhere but we sure have a lot of fun trying and we get dirty as a group or we don’t get dirty at all.  The Dickman’s know their children had a good day with their Nanny hoses the children off in the front yard!  Being a nanny is fun!  Fun for children…bad for mommy’s on washday!

This is the Dickman’s answering machine message:

“This is the Dickman’s residence. Thank you for calling.  Lee’s not home, I am not home and the children are out with their nanny. God knows where she took them today!  Leave a message at the beep someone is bound to show up sometime!”

  Got to go now...Cearra just came home with a pink face!  Oh, dear!  

See Finger Painting

The End 

 Written by: Cynthia E. Martin 

Date: 1996 

Copywrite 2001 Visions West Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Principle Characters 

Brett Dickman age 10 

Cearra Dickman age 4 

Cynthia E. Martin- forty something

       Last Updated: 03/14/02 08:29:03 AM