As a child

I admired my babysitter

She was so smart, beautiful, grown up

She made me anxious to mature

 

Now I wipe snotty noses

I give bubble baths

I let five-year-olds give me crazy hair styles

I play with Barbie dolls again

I am a babysitter

 

I am a role model

To all the kids I babysit

Who I love so much

 

I love jumping on trampolines

I love hearing crazy stories

Told by their imaginations

I love watching them problem solve

I love it when they grab my leg

making one leg much heavier when I walk

I love putting band-aids on their boo-boos

I love reading them stories

I love my job

 

I know now

My job isn't only to care for the children

My job is to love them

My job is to set a good example

 

My job is to be the best role model

I could possibly be