The thing about being a nanny — or in any line of childcare — is that you get attached to a child that doesn't in any way belong to you. Twenty-four hours into my first day as a full-time nanny, I fell completely in love with a little boy that isn't mine to love. He has two amazing parents, a wonderful extended family, and now, a baby sister who is going to unconditionally love and idolize him forever — but he also has me, and I love the kid to absolute pieces.
As a parent, I could imagine that it would feel weird — almost threatening — to have someone else say that they're in love with your child. When your kids are born, you love them no matter what because they're yours, and that's just how it works. But it is still so possible to love a child who doesn't belong to you — especially because children love back so unconditionally in the first place. If you are a parent to a child and you allow someone else to play a large role in their life, having that person love them the way you do is, in my opinion, the best outcome for everyone.
Having that person love them the way you do is, in my opinion, the best outcome for everyone.
Don't get me wrong — I know with 300-percent certainty that I would never in any way replace my employer as her son's mother, that's just not possible, nor is it something I would ever want. But being a nanny is kind of weird, if I'm honest. You spend an entire day trying to keep someone else's kid happy, fed, and alive. Because of that, you can't help but feel like this little kiddo is yours in a way — after all, they learn from you, they adopt little habits of yours, they pick up phrases that you use. They become a mix of their parents with a splash (or two) of you, because you are the three people that they spend the most time with. So when I say that I'm completely in love with a child that isn't mine, there are multiple reasons why I feel like I am validated.
So yes, I am in love with a little boy that isn't mine — and to go a step further, the second his little sister was born, my heart burst even more, because with her it was love at first (iPhone photo) sight. It's a weird thing to talk about, but it's such a natural feeling. That little boy wasn't just my pint-size boss, he's an extraordinary child who has touched my life so irrevocably — he's my best friend, my "chicken nugget," my absolute favorite person in the whole world, and I love him to kingdom come.