She Had Me At “I want to be a neurologist when I grow up.”

For the past few weeks now I’ve been working as an on-call babysitter for a nannying agency to tide me over until I find a shiny new full-time job. It may lack benefits, financial security and predictable hours, BUT it’s flexible, doesn’t involve cubicles and always manages to get my mind off of myself. And while I still waffle between “Yeah, I love hanging with the shorties” and “I’m getting my tubes tied immediately,” I have managed to learn a few things:

1. Rocking a baby or toddler to sleep is incredibly soothing -- when you're not the one being rocked -- even if it means leaving someone’s home wearing a cardigan covered with white, crusty baby drool.
2. Potty training — good! Four-year-old diapers — very, very bad.
3. It’s still so funny to me that the same five year old who uses the phrase “Like the pot calling the kettle black,” and says she wants to be a neurologist (and offer a good description of what a neurologist studies) when she grows up still dissolves into tears within seconds of having a Barbie snatched from her lap.
4. I’ve decided my childhood could have been at least 20 percent more fun if I had one of these to ride when I was 5 or 6 (and it's still pretty fun at age 29) instead of Big Wheels: 

5. Child care is exhausting; being an editor is not.