My Seven Quirks

I have many more quirks than just seven, but lets just start here.

1. I am afraid to go to the bank. I don't know why I'm afraid to go, but the thought of walking into that building gives me a knot in my stomach. I've kept checks for several months, because I don't want to go to the bank. The funny thing is, when I was eight I wanted to be a bank teller. Then when I was around ten, I realized I was terrified of banks.

2. I love to save money. This might stem from the whole bank thing, but I love to have wads of money. If I were an old lady I would be the one with her life savings under her mattress. it makes me happy to have money, and when I buy things I always have a bit of a battle in my mind. I have to ask myself if its worth breaking a twenty. Most of the time, it isn't.

3. My brother can tickle me from across the room. I am very very ticklish, and I grew up having to deal with countless tickling torture sessions. As a result when Eldon, or any of my older siblings wiggle their fingers at me I shriek and run from the room. If they come up and actually tickle me I scream, fall to the floor r and curl up in the fetal position. I feel bad when a friend touched my stomach, and I shriek. Just know, It is not your fault.

4. I'm afraid to go up the stairs in the dark. I can go up when its light, and I can go down the stairs in the dark. It's just down the stairs in the dark. When I get about half way up I think someone is coming after me. Then I run up the stairs and rush into a bright area.

5. I am a very picky eater. Since I was very little I have been very picky. I go through phases where something is just detestable. I only recently started liking cheese again. I have two foods that that I just hate. Eggs and Lasagna. Gross. Gross. Uck! Only I cant really say why I don't like eggs or lasagna. I don't like them. Please don't offer me them. I will say it isn't easy being a member and hating lasagna. I only eat bread at church dinners.

6. I like to sleep with my door open. I actually like to keep my door open all the time. When my door is closed I feel like I'm in a box. I like things open.

7. I lie to have different and fun birthday candles. I like candles that are more than just regular multicolored candles. For my sixteenth birthday my candles were roses. I had a beautiful bouquet of roses on my cake. For my eighteenth birthday I had butterflies on my candles. It was a fairy garden cake. Its just something I've always done, and always loved.

I Finally Saved A Life.

When I was 15 the Young Women put me in charge of the blood drive they were holding at my church. Since I was too young to actually give blood, I sat and signed people in, while I looking at the Red Cross posters saying, "You can save a life." I decided I wanted to save a life. I could be life superman, but instead of all the battle, and destruction, I could sit in a chair sipping Orange juice. I wonder why superman never thought of that.

Well I have tried to give blood. After I turned sixteen I signed up for both of the blood drives held at my school. Neither of them ended well. The first blood drive wouldn't let me donate, because mom had not dated her signature. DATED! Such a technicality. I asked if I could just leave the room, dated it and them come back to give blood. They were not for it.

The second blood drive I actually got into the chair, and I got stuck with the needle. Unfortunatly my blood did not seem to want to flow. I watched three people donate and leave the chair next to me, while I sat there with my pretzels and half filled bag of blood. Finally the nurse gave up and took the needle out. Apparently my blood had clotted in the needle. I suggested cleaning the needle then sticking it back in there, but they wouldn't go for it.

The third time I went, I actually went to Red Cross Center. I was determined. The third time is the charm, right? Wrong. They couldn't even find my vain!. At one point I had three people surrounding me. They were staring at my arm and telling me to squeeze the ball tighter. I felt like medical mystery. They told me I wasn't drinking enough water and sent me home.

As I prepared to try again on Thursday, I didn't believe it would work, but I brought all my information, and drank a lot of water. Well to make a medium sized story short. I finally gave blood. Yeah. I felt like everybody was rooting for me to. I got tons of thumbs ups and "Good job, Sweetie." They even laughed at my jokes. It didn't take long for me to decide that I liked these people.

Of course then I had to deal with the side effects of giving blood. I almost fainted when I ran up the stairs that night. Oh well, I guess not even Superman can save a life without a couple annoyances.

I Feel Like I'm Missing Something. Oh, It's the Baby.

Yesterday was my last day as Alex's nanny. I'm still on call as a babysitter for when he gets sick at daycare, but I will no longer see him everyday. I think I'm still trying to get use to that fact. It feels so natural to be at home, but on the other hand I have this nagging feeling. There is something missing.

Today I have spent to entire day watching TV. I haven't gotten out of my pajamas, or brushed my hair. Don't judge me. Everyone does it.

Anyway, around 2 pm I thought maybe I would see about lunch. Then I realized that if I were in Virginia, Alex would be just waking up from his nap. We would have already been to the library, had lunch, and, since its Thursday, we would be getting ready to go on a "Field Trip." After I had that thought, I looked around me and thought, "Weird."

I think I will definitely miss somethings about being a nanny to that family. Alex is just starting to talk. I'll miss taking walks with him. I'll miss feeling like i have responsibilities. I'll definitely miss having a beautiful and fulfilling paycheck every Friday morning.

On the other hand I won't miss feeling pressured to potty train a boy who isn't even one year old. I won't miss only having roughly two hours of down time a day, and I won't miss walking into the apartment in the morning and seeing the kitchen, I had cleaned, be even messier than before. I'm bitter. I can't deny it.

I had a lot of fun as a nanny. It was a really good experience. Maybe someday I'll write a book about it. Probably not.