Dylan was in need of a baby sitter, and of course I would never turn down a chance to hang out with that wonderful little girl. She really is one of the most mild-mannered children I’ve ever met. Though she is certainly spoiled by her loving parents, she is completely humble which is such a beautiful thing to me. She acts shy every time upon the first five minutes of my arrival, and I usually find her hiding from me under a living room chair. After I spot her, she always pops out and runs to give me a hug. If I have children half as pleasant as she is, I will be totally happy. She’s been an absolute joy this entire summer.
After her nanny left for the day, she told me that she wanted to go scooter in the park. We put on her helmet and headed out. She rode her scooter through the lobby of the building as the doorman smiled, shook his head, and told her to come back soon. Once in the park, she was as free as a little bird. Somehow the swings made her forget about her desire to scooter as she requested that I lift her into the baby chair. She wanted me to push her higher and higher, but I told her she was going as high as she could. She asked why, so I told her about the time my dad was having so much fun that he accidentally pushed me too hard and I went flying up around the top bar of the swing! At first she gasped in disbelief, but then she started laughing at the thought that I was provoking in her mind.
All of a sudden, Dylan got a really sick look on her face. I felt horrible and thought she was going to throw up from motion sickness on the swing. Immediately I grabbed onto her swing and stopped her. I asked her what was going on and to this she replied, “I just thought about my crib.” Recently, she acquired a new big-girl-bed in her room because she was getting too big for her crib. Dylan began telling my how she didn’t actually want to sleep in her crib still, but she just wanted it to keep her company. Her face looked so worried when she told me that she thought her parents were giving it away to another baby. She was so sad, but I couldn’t help but giggle inside because it was just so darn cute.
I thought the best way to deal with this was to run through the fountains with the other little kids. Dylan didn’t want to at first, but once I did it and looked back across at her, the biggest smile came across her face and she ran through the water and clung laughing to my leg. I started something within her because after the first run through, she didn’t want to leave. It started getting dark and some shady characters started entering this children’s playground, so I decided it was time to strap her helmet back on and get to the absolute safety of their Upper West Side apartment.
Dylan asked to play a game on my phone once we got home. I hardly have any games on my phone except the ones that my little sister and brother downloaded. I really don’t have time to play the games, and I’m a visual learner, so I can’t afford to play on my phone during class. She got tired of losing Fruit Ninja all too fast, so I opened Angry Birds for her. I showed her how to do it and she tried once. After a few minutes she began questioning what was happening to the little green piggies. When I told her that they were dying she was horrified and began to cry. I took the game away from her and explained that it wasn’t real. She was so relieved.
Always,
Alena Netia Horowitz
