Puppies vs Cats

I'm a nanny.  It's not what I do, it's who I am.

I LOVE kids.  And kids love me too.

I've been working as a nanny for over 10 years with three different families.

I helped raise premie triplets from birth till their fifth birthday.

I was with Goo and Bug from the time Goo was 2 months old, and I was the first person (besides mom/dad and hospital employees) to hold Bug when he was born...they are now 5 and almost 3years old.  The day they moved out of town (one year ago) was one of the hardest of my life.  Luckily, they have super awesome parents, we've stayed in touch and I've been able to visit them every few months, as well as FaceTime every other week or so.

I've been with Lu, Pho and Mia for the past year and let me tell you--having three tween girls is incredibly different than having two little boys.  The boys were like puppies...they waited for me by the door, jumped, circled and yelped when I walked in, sometimes they might even leave a little puddle.  At the end of the day, they followed me to the door and pressed their noses to the glass as I walked away.  I was a jungle gym, a comfy place to curl up and sleep and they depended on me for everything: if they were hungry, I fed them; if they needed to go potty, I was in charge; if they were sad, hurt, mad, I was the one to make it better.  I was licked, pawed, peed on, covered in kisses, and I loved every second of every single day.

The girls...well, they are like cats.  I have to hunt them down when I walk in the house, and nobody seems to care when it's time for me to leave.  My presence is generally only requested when someone needs money, a favor, or food.  Every now and again, I'll get someone curling up in my lap wanting love...but as it ends almost before I realize what's happening and my lap is empty once more.  I get hissed at when I request homework be done, and I must be the most embarrassing person that ever walked the earth...I'm constantly getting looked at like I stepped on someones tail.

That being said...I know they can't help it.  Girls are different than boys and tweens are different than toddlers, preschoolers and kindergartners.  It's not their fault-I was the same way when I was their age-it's just a part of life.

But...every once in a great while, the cats will drop their guard and fill up my little love cup.  For my birthday they each made me a card.  I commented to the oldest (Lu, almost 13) that I loved her card because I hardly ever get to hear her say nice things to me.  I walked in the next day and this was sitting on the counter:

Here are a few of the things she wrote:

* Has a sense of humor (a good one)
* Is willing to try new things
* Cooks, and cooks, and cooks some more (and cooks some more)
* Listens to most things you have to say (non-nonsense things)

Maybe they are puppies, just disguised as cats...