I recently read the book The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin (I highly recommend it) and throughout the book, she used a quote that resonated with me.
The days are long but the years are short.
The older I get the more I realize how true that statement is.
Life is constantly changing and the older I get the faster time spins past.
As a nanny, I can really identify with that statement.
As nannies, we often work long hours and have busy days without a lot of social interaction.
Some days really do feel like they will never end.
And then they do.
First they are off to pre school, then to Kindergarten and one day you turn around and they are off to college.
It really makes you stop and think about the value of each day. My oldest just headed off to college. I feel so blessed to be able to have shared his entire childhood, to start with him at 6 weeks and stay with him until he is college bound.
This is a whole new chapter for all of us.
This is a whole new chapter for all of us.
I don’t work in the summer, I am usually very busy and very active but this summer I have not felt well and it’s given me time to pause and reflect.
It’s given me time, for the first time in a long time to not be busy. It’s forced me to slow down. Normally I am always going somewhere, always doing something, always have a deadline for a project or an article but not being able to rush around, has made me realize that being busy isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.
When you’re busy every minute is filled with something. Sometimes you get in the car to drive somewhere and don’t even remember the route you took to get there.
You don’t always have those moments to simply stop and think but once I did, I realized that I don’t want to be “crazy busy” anymore. For far too many years I have been awakened out of a dead sleep at 2 AM with a panicked thought that I forgot to write an article or send an email or make a phone call or meet a deadline, and I don’t want to do that anymore.
I’m going to be 59 in October. I used to think that was really old! Now I just marvel at the miracle that I made it this long because I have close friends that didn’t.
So when you decide to let go of “busy” you have to make decisions about what you let go and what you keep.
Regarding Nannies has been such a huge part of my life the last 3 years. I have such fond memories of how Alice and Kellie and I spent all those hours on conference calls deciding what this blog would be like, adding Greta to the team, choosing colors, developing a logo….all of it has been such a great experience but Life is Change, and for me, I have decided that Regarding Nannies is one of the things that keeps me busiest, therefore, I must let it go.
You may have heard the qoute: “I’d quit eating chocolate, but I’m no quitter”….well I’m no quitter either but sometimes you have to make hard choices and hard decisions and this was definitely a hard decision.
I feel privileged to have been a part of the Regarding Nannies Development Team. Growing this blog has been a lot of fun, and a lot of hard work but there is no one I would rather have been with on this journey. I am confident that Regarding Nannies will continue to grow with Alice and Kellie.
You may have heard the qoute: “I’d quit eating chocolate, but I’m no quitter”….well I’m no quitter either but sometimes you have to make hard choices and hard decisions and this was definitely a hard decision.
I feel privileged to have been a part of the Regarding Nannies Development Team. Growing this blog has been a lot of fun, and a lot of hard work but there is no one I would rather have been with on this journey. I am confident that Regarding Nannies will continue to grow with Alice and Kellie.
I wish them all the best for continued success and growth.
Glenda
Thank you for starting this very helpful resource for nannies, and for all the time and energy you have poured into it, Glenda. I hope you enjoy your new free time.
Thanks Jan! I had a seed, it would have never grown without Alice and Kellie.
Thanks Glenda for all of your hard work. You all have done an amazing job with this blog! Enjoy your days of letting go of busy!!
Thanks Brandi 🙂
As a fellow seeing them through from birth to college I know exactly what you mean with the Days are long the years are short!! Thanks for being part of this great group. I love it and will continue to support it and you. Your ROCK! 🙂 LOVE YOU,Jenn
Well said as always Dearest Glenda. Thank you for everything that you have done for all of us. May you find joy in being less busy, you have earned the peace my dear friend.
Aw, G. Thanks for sharing your time, talent and resources with all of us. You are right, things change, and as such, things without you here won’t be the same. But, upward, onward and onto the things that conform to our choices to do the best things for ourselves and our families.
-Michelle
Thank you so much Glenda for helping to make this dream of ours come true. We spent many hours back in the summer of 2009 coming up with Regarding Nannies. We have kept to our “framework” of Regarding Nannies and have provided wonderful resources for nannies at any stage in their career. You are correct, I don’t think the three of us could have done this with anyone else to grow and nuture this idea the 3 of us had. We had Greta who was a wonderful mix to our roots and helped nutrish us as well.
I look forward to your contributions to Regarding Nannies as a guest author 🙂
Thank you for your friendship and dedication over the past 3 years for Regarding Nannies.
<3 Alice
Three years ago I was honored to be asked to be part of a new feature to the nanny industry … Regarding Nannies. Since then I have grown and learned so much about our industry and myself, due in large part to Glenda and her selfless gift of herself, her guidance and her friendship.
Alice and I will carry on with Regarding Nannies in the spirit it was created, never forgetting how we got here and who led us … Glenda.
Kellie
I have been fine all day, you guys are going to make me cry. Thank you for the kind words but it was absolutely a group effort from the 3 of us and eventually Greta too. We were a great team, and it was a great ride.
Kellie and Alice you will carry Regarding Nannies on to great things.
g
G, your words always inspire, they hit the nail on the head. I appreciate you, your advice, your friendship through all the nanny years and tears..
Thanks Jan, Brandi, Jenn, Stacie, Michelle, Sals, Kellie and Alice.
You will never know how much your kind words mean to me.
Glenda, my friend! I am catching up on my RN blog reading and just found this post. Thanks for your leadership in starting this for nannies and for mother and care for the industry as a whole. You are a true gem in so many ways and I am thankful to have stood beside you. Blessings to you. Seasons come and change, and I know that God has plans for you. Rest, indulge, and continue to dream and create. We love you birdie!!
Hey Greta Bird!
I just found this comment.
Thank you for these kind words. You are so special to me and this “old bird” has learned a lot from you. It was great to share this road with you for a while.
g