By Carly Walkowiak ’14 | Staff Writer

Over the summer, I received a very unexpected call from my friend who had been nannying for a family all summer.  She was wondering if I was interested in babysitting before school every morning.

Before school? Every morning?

Right away, I told her there was no way I would be able to babysit at that ungodly hour.  I already had a problem with getting out of bed in the first place, let alone another hour and a half earlier.

Then I thought about it a little while longer, and I decided to call the children’s mother and get more information on the job before turning it down completely.

I knew the family prior to this phone call because I had been with my friend sometimes while she was babysitting Mary Claire and Ava Zimmerman; they were two adorable girls ages 5 and 4.

Once I had gathered more information on the job, I warmed up to it a little more.  They were going to be very generous and give me $100 per week.  I knew I needed the money, and it was indeed easy money.

My routine was to arrive at their house every morning by 6:30, which meant that instead of getting up at my usual 7:20 am I would be waking up around 5:50.  Great.  Upon my arrival, I would get the girls dressed, pack their lunches, make them breakfast, do their hair, and brush their teeth, all to get them out of the house by 7:15 am.

Over the summer, I had a trial week because the girls were attending a summer camp that started around 8 a.m. at Barnes Preschool, and there was no way for me to the girls ready in 45 minutes.  It was nearly impossible.

However, by the end of the week I was getting into the hang of things and was able to get this done within an hour or so.

The parents, Burt and Lisa Zimmerman, were very understanding and I was comfortable enough to tell them that there was enough time for me to get them ready and gone by that time unless I arrived earlier.

Instead of making me come earlier, the Zimmermans helped me out  by packing the girls lunches the night before and had the girls dressed by the time I arrived to the house.

By the middle of October, I was used to my schedule and it does not bother me at all at this point.

People always ask me how I do it, and they assume it’s just for the money.  But that’s not the case at all.  I became very close with this family and when I don’t babysit them for a week or so because they either have relatives in town, or they are on vacation I feel very lonely because I spend every morning with this family.

Mary Claire and Ava are two of the most energetic girls I know.  They make comments that can make me laugh all the way to school, or even the end of the day.  Their goofy personalities are so likeable; babysitting for them is as fun for me as it is for them.

The thing that I enjoy the most are mornings when Mary Claire has pajama day at her preschool, or when they have picture day and I’m getting them ready and styling their hair, even Halloween this year was exciting when the girls went off to school in their princess costumes.  I love that I get to be a part of those moments for them.

One time they told me that they wished I was their sister, and I thought of it for a little and I came to realize that they aren’t just two girls I babysit.  They are my little sisters, and I love that they think of me the same way.

Sometimes we have harder mornings than others, and sometimes mornings run smoothly, but in the end it is worth it.

For more on babysitting, see here.