Some Days - How I Became a Nanny

Hi! I’m Megan, a career nanny of over a decade and co-founder of The Heart State Nanny Agency, and it’s my birthday! Some birthdays are major life milestones - hello sweet 16 and the freedom of the open road - while others seem to fade right into the humdrum. But regardless of the number on the cake, birthdays are a time of celebration and reflection. As an extrovert, I love birthdays as an excuse to bring friends and family together. As a closet nerd and slightly competitive tabletop gamer, birthdays are a time when I can usually con all my friends into trying out a new game even if they “aren’t really all that into games”. As a devout sweet-tooth, birthdays are usually a smorgasbord of all my favorite treats - yellow cake with fudge frosting, cheesecake, baklava, and frosted cookies. But my favorite part about birthdays is considering all the ways that I have grown since my last birthday, all the goals I have achieved and all the goals I get to work towards on my level up. 

This time a year ago, I was on the upswing after a hard year. I was deeply fulfilled in my job, content in my marriage, loving the addition of a second dog to our family, and anxiously but excitedly throwing myself headfirst into urban homesteading and chicken tending. What has changed? Nothing… and everything. All of those things are still true, but my appreciation for them has grown. That’s the thing about growth… sometimes growth is a big change, but sometimes it’s just a shift of perspective. And sometimes it is just stepping outside of what you expected and being open to where the adventure takes you. 

Over the past year people have routinely told me, “you must have known you wanted to have chickens” or “have you wanted chickens for a long time?” But, here’s the truth of it. I never wanted chickens. When I was 10 years old I went on a trip with my Girl Scout troop to a farm, and I wound up being chased for what felt like a million years by a flock of chickens and an angry rooster. I jumped into an empty stall in the barn and hid until the coast was clear. Needless to say, I was terrified of chickens. When my husband told me he wanted to get chickens I was hesitant. But I jumped into it, and I was surprised to find that I LOVE chickens. I have enjoyed getting to see their personalities, nurturing their growth, and I really can’t imagine my life without them. They brought something to my life that I didn’t know I was even missing. 

Similarly, people often ask me if I always knew that I wanted to be a nanny. That is a hard one to answer, because if I’m honest I kinda fell into nannying by accident. I was busy pursuing my someday goals and I thought I was just making a pit stop along the way. 

When I was a child, I wanted to do everything. I knew that someday, I wanted to be an explorer, a scientist, a zoologist, a teacher, a lifelong student, an author, an illustrator, an inventor, an astronaut, an artist… I wanted every single day to be an adventure full of discovery and wonder. And as I grew up, the list of things I wanted to do… to try… to be… just got longer and longer. By the time I got to college I had a long list of hobbies and interests, but I thought I knew what I wanted to do with my life. Five years, two changed majors, and a minor later I decided to take a gap year to see if I could finally pick the one thing that I was so passionate about that I could build a career around it.

I had always loved working with kids and had been a babysitter, professional face painter, and summer nanny. So, when I decided to take some time off from college to find my purpose, I decided to take a job as a nanny. I told my mom that after a year I would know what I wanted to do with my life. It was less than a week into my first full-time nanny position that I knew without a doubt that nannying was not a pit stop in pursuing my passion. It was my passion, and it still is.

As a nanny every day is a new adventure. The new and inspiring, wrapped up in the safety of routines.

Some days I get to be a wilderness guide leading little humans into scientific discovery on a nature hike or creeking adventure.

Some days I get to be an artist covered in finger paint, glue stick residue and an unfortunate amount of glitter.

Some days I get to be a culinary artist experimenting with fun ideas to persuade my nanny kids to try just one bite of something new… or constructing a castle cake out of sugar cubes and pretzels like I am preparing for my turn on The Great British Bake Off.

Some days I get to be a dancer in the Pre Naptime Wiggle Troupe practicing our most stageworthy dance moves until we collapse in exhaustion finally ready to settle down for rest.

Some days I am pretty sure I am an encyclopedia AND a thesaurus AND a fount of endless fun facts.

Some days I get to be an astronomer sitting in a planetarium with stars in my eyes describing the different constellations and the myths they have held across time and space.

Some days I get to be a dinosaur, a tickle monster, and maybe a zombie… I never really know why all the shrieking and giggling starts, but I sure am thankful that I get to be a part of it.

But even cooler than all the different hats that I get to wear is the joy and passion I get to have watching my nanny kiddos grow and engage the world with curiosity and awe, discovering new interests and building their own “somedays”.

As my passion for childcare grew, so did my desire for personal growth and education to be the best nanny that I could be for each and every one of my kids. I realized that I do get to be a lifelong student and began to seek out opportunities for education and training that would benefit my work – newborn care specialist training, connection centered discipline, trauma-informed care, water safety, early childhood development, nutrition, ADHD trainings…

And I realized I wasn’t just passionate about providing the highest level of care for my nanny kiddos, but that I was passionate about raising the level of professionalism and skill across our nanny community. I began seeking out like-minded nannies, mentoring newer nannies, encouraging nannies to take additional training and certifications, and advocating for professional industry standards for both nannies and employers.

When my best friend, Raven, approached me a few years ago and said that someday we should start a nanny agency it seemed like such an elusive dream. But it was a dream we held onto and slowly watered and cultivated as we built into our nanny community. 

So today, as I celebrate my birthday and reflect on this past year, I am beyond grateful for where this surprise adventure has led me. And as I look forward to what this next year holds, I am so thrilled to announce that our “someday” has finally come! Introducing The Heart State Nanny Agency - coming soon!