Nanny Recall

After taking intensive french classes for two months I decided I was burnt out and wanted to do something else. I found a posting for an au pair position at the college and called the number. It was for a single british woman and her three children ages 3,7, and 9. This seemed a good opportunity to clear some karma with my nannys from childhood. 

The house located in beautiful southern France just west of Cannes. 

The mother, a former heroine addict, clean for 8 plus years, moved to Theoule to escape the past. The location of the home was removed from major public transit making it difficult to leave or travel anywhere without a car. The next month my life would no longer be my own.

Taking care of other people's children is not easy. I caught a glimps of what my life may have been like had I choosen to have children, making me realize that I'm not ready and there is a lot I want to do before I if/ever have children. 

I got a taste of what it must have been like for my nanny Mimi in dealing with me. She was from South Africa and had a British English accent. I remember telling her the way she "bath" was wrong and we argued. Coming full ciricle I had the same conversation involving the word "bath" with the 9 year-old boy. Mimi and I ened up saying the same thing in return,"This is how I speak and have spoken my whole life and I'm not going to change how I say every single word, especially since you understand me enough to have this argument. We speak the same language and we say things differently. That's how it is." The kids were nice enough, we're more into playing on the iPad than anything. We did have a few fun creative moments. 

My friend Amy from Chicago asked me to meet her in Beirut right around the time my visa expired in France. 

Next stop...Lebanon