harriet

the first family i nannied for in nashville now lives in chicago.  i try to visit them (and the windy city...and oprah, of course...) as much as i possibly can, matter of fact i just went recently and posted pictures to prove it.

today i was thinking about this and laughed out loud, it might be my favorite all time nanny story.

when the aquarium restaurant opened in nashville, we were all dying to go.  i had heard that the scuba diver actually gets in the tank to feed at 11 am and at 5 pm, so i wanted to make sure we got there in time for the eleven o'clock feeding.  

we all arrived just in time to see him pounce in the tank.  i had really talked it up and all three kiddos were excited.  and just as the scuba diver caught our tables eye and we were all about to give him our best smile and wave...harriet, the oldest of the three children who was four at the time, swiftly stood up in her chair and announced to the entire restaurant, "MS. JESSICA!  I WANT TO BE A SCREWDRIVER WHEN I GROW UP!"

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while we are telling tales on harriet, here's another.

my first day on the job, being their nanny, harriet was sick and needed a little extra TLC,  she had just turned two, but had quite the personality already and could speak as well as i could, her vocabulary probably consisting of more words than i currently know.  

she promptly announced as soon as i arrived, "ms.  jessica, i am sick."

to which i replied, "well, what should we do?" 

without missing a beat, she said, "you need to call the doctor." 

"well, what would i say?"  i said back to her. 

she said, "you would say, hello, doctor, this is ms. jessica!"  

 looking at me like i was the dumbest person in the world.