Dare to Au Pair: Round Two

To say my first job as an au pair didn’t go quite as planned would be an understatement. It had its ups and downs just like any other shrill seeking, terror causing, havoc reeking, heart attack causing roller coaster would. So when faced with the opportunity for round two, I first ran for the hills, then hovelled up in a corner with a blanket over my head for a good while until lastly, I faced that scaly dragon in what I can only describe as an act of delirium.

Some may ask, why if I was so unhappy with the first family would I put myself through the same kind of hell? Well, I can answer that in three short and bitterly sweet words: I was broke. With no prospective employers ringing my cell and not a dollar (Sorry, Euro) to my name, I was up shit creek without a paddle. So I got on the old Google machine, and through a very selective process, found the family that was going to rock my au pairing world.

I was in over my head, they said with despair. Three young boys would surely do my head in. And they did. Aged one, two, and three, these blonde haired and blue eyed wonders tested my limits every day. They pulled my strings along with my hair, but they also grew on me. Unable to rouse an angry thought, they could transform my day with a simple hug. We spent countless hours playing peek-a-boo, discussing tractors, and drawing pictures; singing songs and hanging clothes out on the line; chasing birds out of the house and baking cookies; drinking tea, spilling it, and cleaning it up; and it never once dawned on me that this was my job. I wanted to spend my days off at home, chasing those monkeys up and down the hallways and couldn’t help but detect something missing when they weren’t around.

But after four months it was time for an end to this run-on fairy tale. I wanted to stay, I really did; A part of me knew I somehow belonged smack in the middle of this trio. But the voice of reason became louder and louder and I soon realized that as much as I wanted there to be, there was nothing left in Ireland for me. I had made great friends, seen wonderful things, and my experiences would always be in my back pocket, but there was a world waking up outside those doors and I knew I couldn’t pass that up. So with one last hug to each of them, I watched as my heart was split and sealed into three equal pieces and locked away for a rainy day.