The Beginning

First of all, let me explain my situation. I'm a college student trying to make money in the summers. I really like kids. I really like working with kids who have special needs. There's something really satisfying about seeing them smile after a big accomplishment, helping them learn something new, and seeing them love other people. That's what led me to the summer job I currently have: Special Needs Nanny. I absolutely love what I do.

*Disclaimer: I'm not using anyone's real name but my own, since these kids aren't mine. Now that that's out of the way...*

Last summer I babysat the sweetest, sassiest little girl with Autism, Asperger's, and PDD. Basically she is on the Autism scale and has developmental delays, but she is verbal. Very verbal. She'll tell you how it is, and mostly in the sassiest way she can. Therefore, I call her Sass. I love her. I like to think she loves me too, mostly because she tells me she does every five minutes. She's turning eleven this summer. I can't believe it. She also grew about a foot between last summer and this summer. She's so tall. It would be an understatement to say I was beyond thrilled when her mom called asking me to babysit again this summer; however, this summer she asked me if I could handle not one but two girls.

Princess is Sass's best friend. She's seven and developmentally delayed. She also has a knack for spotting every single thing pertaining to baby dolls, princess crowns, stuffed animals, and dress up five minutes after walking into any environment. She's precious and loves to be girly, which is right up my ally. I just can't get over how cute she always is.

Basically, I want to chronicle my summer with these precious babies. They say the funniest things to me, which is why I want to share it with the world. Or at least the tiny portion of the world that will stumble upon this blog. Get ready, it'll be a fun ride. I promise.

Even though I know this post is about a billion words too long, I just want to give you a taste of my life. One day, Sass and I were playing because Princess wasn't there. Sass's OT (Occupational Therapist) gave her a new therapy to try and calm her down. It didn't work. At. All. She was so riled up. The only thing she could think of to do was run around the house playing Hide-and-Seek.

The great thing about playing Hide-and-Seek with Sass is that she slams doors. Loudly. So you always know exactly where she's hiding. The first time I "found" Sass, I apparently scared her. She screamed and looked at me like I was a horrible person. So, I did the only rational thing I could and decided to start knocking on the door to tell her I was about to open it without actually telling her. She loved it. At first. Then she got really mad at me for who knows what reason (I'm personally blaming it on the therapy).

Sass slamed the closet door, looked at me, pointed her long finger in my face and said:

"Now don't you dare follow me into the hallway."

So of course, I did. She dug out her play cell phone, dialed 9-1-1 and the following conversation with the pretend operator on the other end of the line.

"Hello? Emergency?"

Pause for answer.

"Yeah, this is an emergency."

Another pause.

"She keeps knockin' on the doors. You need to do somethin' about it."

Pause.

"Now."

Longer pause.

"Thank you."

Close the phone.

She turned to me, pointed that finger again, and said: "Yeah, they're coming to get you. I told 'em you was bad."

They didn't come after me, but her threats are never idle.