And my babysitting duties have ended

Friday was my last day babysitting the three kids I've been hanging out with all summer long. At the start of summer I was only watching the twins, and halfway through the summer I also started watching their younger sister- she's four. She was quite the handful, but so much fun to be around. She was your average four-year-old, barbies and coloring were her favorite activities and she never wanted to leave the pool, but there was also a sad quality about her. She always yearned for her mother and talked about her daddy constantly, but unfortunately these kids are court-ordered to stay away from their parents, and it's definitely for the better, no matter how much it's hurting them now. Friday was a sad occasion, for me at least. During my last week with them the youngest cried almost every day I left while clinging onto my leg, but when my last day with them arrived, there wasn't a tear shed. I got a little choked up when I was telling them to have a good school year, to behave, etc etc etc, and they just gave me hugs and sent me on my way. I'm really going to miss those crazy kids, no matter how crazy they drove me.

A new beginning

After much thought, I finally decided to make the switch from LiveJournal, who I was with since eighth grade. My username was outdated, as was everything I wrote about- complaints mostly, there was nothing of substance. I'm trying to become more serious with my writing, so I figured a fresh start is just what I need.


I've been thinking about my future a lot lately, as much as it makes me excited, it also makes me nervous and unsure. For as long as I can remember, I've had the popular "change the world" mindset. I want to impact lives and make a difference in our world, by whatever means I can. I'm getting a degree in Early Childhood Education because I love working with children and I want to influence students as much as my first and second grade teacher did. Since traveling to Ireland two years ago, I've wanted to move to Dublin for about a year after getting my Bachelor's doing whatever work I can find, be it working in a pub or cafe. For the past year or so I've entertained the thought of going into the Peace Corps once I get my Bachelor's and teaching wherever I would be sent. After going to How It Ends (www.howitends.tv) last week, I've thought about going to Uganda, or Africa in general, for the teacher exchange program, going there on a mission trip, or even touring with IC around the States- if they're still doing that in 2+ years. At the rate I'm going at, it'll be another 2 years before I graduate, and I've even been thinking about getting a second minor, which would push my graduation date even farther up. I want to get my Master's Degree in Special Education after settling down in my career, however long that takes me. I have so many expectations for my future and I'm worried they're all going to fall through and nothing will happen. That I'll end up working a lousy minimum wage job, dreaming of what my life could have been like. As often as I tell myself I will have an accomplished life, there's always that possibility that something will get in the way and it will all go downhill.


This summer I've been making my money babysitting twin nine-year-olds, a boy and a girl. Most of the time they are so much fun to be around, but there are times when they drive me absolutely insane. Let me provide a wonderful example: Wednesday we decided to play the board game Sorry! I'm sure you all understand the basic rules behind this game: Each player has four pawns, and deciding on which cards are drawn you either move forward or backward, or if you're lucky you take an opponenets place on the board. So we were playing Sorry! and the girl got the replacement card and she switches spots with her brother, who then starts yelling and crying because he has to go back to start. I explain to him that that's simply the point of the game, but he doesn't take it and continues with his crying. His sister chimes in, "Yeah, it's the point of the game! Don't be a crybaby!" I decide that his sister and I will continue in the game and he can join back in when he's decided to stop crying. Eventually we are all playing again and I get the coveted replacement card. Looking at the board, I see I can only trade with the girl. Once I make my move, she starts crying and yelling that it's not fair and she doesn't want to go back to start. Really?
I suppose this is practice for my future career.

It's now past 1am and I told myself I'd be in bed by midnight in an attempt to fix my sleep schedule. Unfortunately my brother decided 1am is the perfect time to clean his bedroom.