What a Nanny Would Like on her Last Day with Your Family

I'm sharing this post again today because it's one of my favorites from Nanny Transitions.
Leaving a job is so hard, ending it on a positive note doesn't make the pain go away but it does make it easier to bear.I didn't write this post on my own, some very special nannies shared their hearts.


What a Nanny Would Like on her Last Day with Your Family

by Glenda Propst
(with help from  Keyanna, Kimberly Ann, Laura,and  Tara)

In a perfect world nanny jobs would last forever. A family would hire you when their children were born and would pay any amount of money to keep you until their children were grown.
In a perfect world all of our paychecks would be direct deposit. Every family would use a nanny tax company so that we never have to worry that our taxes are not being paid.
In a perfect world, even if that job ended, there would be a relationship that continued with you and the child for the rest of your lives.
In a perfect world if and when that job did end your employers would sit down with you, tell you how much they appreciated all that you did for their family, give you a glowing letter of recommendation and send you out the door with a sentimental and thoughtful gift to commemorate your years of working with them, and maybe even a nice cash bonus “just because”.
Sounds sort of like a fairy tale, doesn’t it?
As professional nannies there are some things that we know are guaranteed.
Most nanny jobs last 2-7 years, depending on whether or not there is more than one child in the family.
When we work for dual career families and one or both of them land their dream job it’s usually in another state and most of the time the nanny does not get to move with the family.
If a family begins to have financial issues we are the first thing to go.
We fall in love with the children in our care. We know that they are not our own. We know that they have parents that love them. We know that we are part of a parenting team, but we can not change their diapers, prepare their meals, clean their clothes, kiss their boo boos,and cheer them on through each developmental stage of their life, without falling in love with them.
Our job is demanding, unpredictable and often emotional.
Parents often wonder what they should do for their nanny who is leaving, or nannies who are leaving a family wonder what they should do with the children in their care on their last day.
I asked nannies who are in the process of leaving their job what their ideal last day would be like and to share with us what they wish their employers understood about their leaving. Here are some of their responses:

I would like for my last day to be all about spending time with the children. I would like a day stress free of errands and laundry and just time to focus on time with the children and making a few great memories.
I would like for my employers to look me in the eye, and say goodbye and let me know how much they appreciated me.
I would like to hear them say the words “We are really going to miss you!”
I would like the opportunity to tell them “Thank You!” for sharing your children with me, allowing me the opportunity to do what I love, the job that I am MEANT to do” Love and Care for children.

I wish the parents would talk about it with me instead of acting like it isn’t happening.
I’d like for them to ask me how my job hunt is going. Remind me that it’s not personal so that it doesn’t feel so personal.
I want the parents to reassure me that I will still be able to be a part of their children’s lives.
I wish they realized how much I love their children and the contribution I have made to their lives.
I would love a sappy heartfelt card expressing their appreciation for what I have given to their family.
I want my employers to realize that this is more than just a job for me, being part of their lives was a huge part of my life.
I wish my employers understood that my relationship with their children is not the same as theirs. Their children are losing an important person in their lives.  As a nanny, I can never replace a parent (nor would I ever want to) but honor and respect that I was important to their child so that we can all help each other through this.
Please don’t shut me out of your life. If your children ask about me, let them talk to me. Let me see them, let me have visits with them. While my pain is so fresh, please include me in their lives. You might miss my help, but they miss what I gave to them on a daily basis.
If I choose to leave, don’t take it as personal insult.
Please don’t use your child to get back at me because in the end, the person who gets hurt the most isn’t me, it’s your child.
Honor the relationship I have built with your child.
Validate the contribution that I have made to your life and to lives of your children.
Talk to me about what our relationship will be like after I leave your employment. Will I be allowed to see the children? Will you ask me to take care of the kids on weekends sometimes? Will our relationship change? Or will it simply end?
If you are a nanny “in transition” you probably echo these sentiments. If you are a parent who is losing a nanny, I hope that this article helps answer some of your questions about your nanny’s last days with your family.

I want to thank a very special group of women who are sharing the ups and downs of this loss and supporting each other throughout their transition. Special thanks to Keyanna, Kimberly Ann, Laura,and  Tara for your contributions to this article. If you are a nanny in transition and need support, email Nannytransitions(at)Gmail(dot)com

Is There a Right Way to Give Notice?

Whether a nanny works at a job full time or part time, whether she stays a year or 10 years, when the time comes for whatever reason, for her to move on, it is seldom an easy goodbye.
I don’t know the statistics I just know my experience in talking to other nannies that goodbye is such a hard thing to say.
It seems that no matter how hard we plan, no matter how we try to figure out the right way to do it, it is just so difficult.
I have talked a lot about how hard it is for nannies to be told that their job is ending but today I want to talk about nannies who choose to leave.
Sometimes nannies choose to leave because the children have grown beyond their level of expertise, sometimes they leave because they feel they have a different parenting philosophy, sometimes they make a career change, or their spouse gets transferred or they get a better job offer….there are lots of reasons nannies make the decision to leave.
More often than not the reason doesn’t matter. When a nanny leaves a family the parents usually feel rejected. Once the parents feel rejected a host of other emotions take hold and even in the best working relationship a good nanny employer relationship goes downhill very quickly.
So is there a good way to tell your nanny family you are leaving your job?
Most nannies out of a sense of loyalty to their employers and knowing how much their employers count on them try to give their employers as much notice as possible, but oftentimes it backfires.
A nanny decides to leave her job for whatever reason and she goes to her employer and gives them 6 weeks notice. The nanny does this because she wants to help the parents with the transition to a new caregiver. In a perfect world the nanny and the parent sit down and talk about how they might go about finding a new caregiver. The nanny might offer ideas, suggestions, agency names or even names of other nannies that might be available and together they come up with a plan. The nanny might suggest that they bring the new caregiver in for a 1 or 2 week part time overlap so that they can transition together.
The parents thank the nanny for her honesty and her help and tell her they will write her a beautiful letter of reference and work as a team to make the transition as smooth as possible. They might even say something like “We hope you will still be part of little Susie’s life and come back and visit and maybe even babysit on occasion”
I said a perfect world, right?
Well unfortunately we don’t live in a perfect world and when a nanny tells her employers that she is leaving, the parents hear one thing. No matter what you say the parents hear “I have decided that I no longer want to be part of your child’s life” The parents feel rejected. They feel that you have rejected them and their child and this elicits some very strong emotions. Rejection can trigger pain from other times of being rejected, even if you try not to feel hurt or angry, rejection triggers some very deep emotions. The first thing the parents do when they feel these deep emotions are to go in protective mode for their child. More often than not their reaction is not rational. Their reaction is to get you away from their child as quickly as possible so that you can’t inflict anymore pain.
At a time when you might be expecting an employer to thank you for helping care for their children, you instead find yourself unemployed…and even though unemployment laws differ from state to state, usually once you give notice, you have quit so you are not eligible for unemployment benefits and chances are that the parents will challenge it.
So….what’s a nanny to do?
The very best protection you can have in your job is to never work without a work agreement. A work agreement that very clearly defines the protocol for giving notice by either party. A work agreement may or may not hold up in a court of law but it is a trust agreement between two parties that states “This is what we agree to do”
In your work agreement a fair notice is anywhere from 2-6 weeks but the work agreement should state what happens if either party doesn’t give the proper notice. You may also think about a clause that states if the nanny or family find job/care in that time, nanny will be paid for the duration of her agreement.  You may also want to agree upon a severance agreement if you have been with the family long term. When you are terminated for cause, severance is not usually paid.  For more details on work agreements I suggest you go Regarding Nannies.com and read their series by Kellie Geres : Anatomy of a Work Agreement

Other things that a nanny can do is to ask for a yearly review and ask her employers for a written evaluation that she can keep in her portfolio.
The best thing that you can do is to keep the lines of communication open with your employers. Always have your resume up to date, some money in the bank and a back up plan especially if you know that you will be giving notice on your job.
Just know that goodbyes are never easy, especially when they are initiated by you.When giving notice on your job ends in a negative way, there is only so much you can do. You can try to make your employer understand that this is not personal, but they are not usually in an understanding frame of mind.
As always the best thing you can do is stay on the high road. Don’t badmouth your former employers in job interviews or on message boards and don’t let it stop you from being happy about the positive changes that are coming in your future.

What do Other People say are Your Positive Personality Traits by Jenn Farlow

Thi is the fifth in our series of essay submissions for the Nanny Transitions INA Conference Scholarship. What do other people say are your positive personality traits? Jennifer Farlow Essay Submission for Nanny Transition INA Scholarship Looking through the essay question choices it was hard for me to choose which one to write about. I finally settled on this question because I think that nannies are often givers who spend their lives taking care of others and it can be difficult for us to sit back and hear the nice things that others say about us. Additionally, we as a society often go through our lives skimming the surface and not digging deeper, which is a direct result of the on the go world we live in. My current position caring for infant triplets is a very busy one. Our everyday life can be hectic and I know personally that I often brush off compliments that my friends, family, employers and even strangers we meet on our outings give to me. I thought this would be a good exercise for me to really absorb the positive attributes that others see in me. To get me started on this assignment I dug out all of my reference letters from past employers. Instead of skimming them as I have in the past, I sat down and really read them. After reading each one I tried to really soak in the positive things my employers said about me and reflect on each position that I have held. As I was reading each letter, I started to notice some themes and similarities. Almost all of my past employers wrote how loving, caring, responsible and active I was with their children and how they wouldn’t hesitate to recommend me as a nanny or even hire me again if they had the chance. Several wrote about how I was very hardworking, gave 110% to my job and was a self-starter who needs little direction once I settle into a job. Others wrote about how I was always friendly, sweet and had a positive disposition around their house, even when the circumstances of the job may have been difficult. The next step in this assignment of self-exploration was to ask some of my friends and family what they thought my positive attributes are. Some of the answers I got back were I am funny, loving, hard working and always willing to help out those I love. My brothers told me how brave and adventurous I am for traveling and volunteering around the world and how the envy those traits in me. Both of my Sisters in Law told me how much they treasure having me in their children’s lives and how happy they are that my nieces and nephews have an Aunt like me. Finally, my mom told me how caring, sweet and dedicated I am to my family. The final step in this process for me was to ask my current employers the positive attributes they see in me. My mom boss told me how she knew I was the right nanny for them almost as soon as I walked into the interview and how incredibly happy they are to have me as part of their family. She went on to tell me how much she appreciates that even though it’s difficult to get out of the house with three babies, that I am so active with them taking them on regular outings. Both mom and dad added that that they both love how knowledgeable and patient I am with the babies and that even when they are all crying at the same time, they have never once seen me lose my cool with them. Finally, they told me how much they appreciate how organized and hard working I am and how they have never had to remind me to do anything no matter how small the task. In conclusion, this wasn’t the easiest choice of topics for me and I almost changed my mind several times during the process. What started this as a way to possibly save some money and win a scholarship to the International Nanny Association conference from Nanny Transitions has turned into so much more. In the process I’ve gained a deeper understanding of myself and how others see me, which more valuable than anything I could win.

My Biggest Challenge and How Nanny Transitions Helped Me by Lisa Willis

Here is the fourth in our series of the top 5 Scholarship Essays.
This one is by Lisa Willis.
She answers these 2 questions:


What has been your biggest challenge as you have gone through your job transition?

What has Nanny Transitions help you learn from it?

I think the biggest challenge has been to accept the change in circumstance in my life and nurture

myself. As a nanny I’ve always put others first without thinking about myself. Last year was full of

surprises; it’s been an emotional rollercoaster ride to say the least. In June I will be retiring as a nanny

due to an impending disability.

 I’m retiring sadly but not by choice. I was diagnosed with a hereditary degenerative eye disease over

11 years ago. My eye sight was stable for 10 years and Jan.2013 was the first sign of change and on May

1st of 2013 I was told I could no longer drive. My peripheral vision classifies me as legally blind but my

central vision in my left eye seems to be holding on for now. My current employers refused to let me

quit. I’m forever thankful for their trust in me and wanting to keep me on board for as long as possible.

We had to quickly brainstorm as you know driving is a major part of a nanny’s role. My awesome

husband quickly jumped in and became our “chauffer” and is now running his company at home (mostly

from our car, when we’re at play dates, school and other activities). My current family and I have come

to terms with the fact that our employment will end June 2014 due to my need to prepare and get ready

for what lays ahead. I won’t lie and say it’s been easy, at times I’m scared but I see it only as a change in

circumstances. I’m blessed to have the greatest husband on earth and I’m surrounded by an awesome

support team.

One of my main concerns is the impact this change will have on my charges. I have been with them for

3 ½ years. The family will be relocating as well, so they will have many changes happening at the same

time in June.

Nanny Transitions has been an amazing resource as no one knows what a nanny deals with as much

as another nanny. I was able to vent my worries about the kids and their future. Glenda gave me so

many good suggestions so many I couldn’t write them all down fast enough as we spoke on the phone.

She had so many great ideas for me to implement. Sharing and voicing my concerns and fears out loud

helped me to analyze and put into perspective what I can and can’t change or control. This really woke

me up to the fact that I need to make these last few months special and memorable for the kids. I feel

it’s also helped me be more present and intentional with everything I do and say with the kids on a daily

Glenda emailed me many resources to read and ponder on. She has a big heart and just talking with her

you can feel the love and passion she has for her fellow nannies or the Nanny Sisterhood as some call us.

I’ve been a nanny for fifteen wonderful years and will cherish all the memories for many years to come.

I’m learning to take it one day at a time.

What Do Other People Say Are Your Positive Personality Traits? by Kenda Horst

International Nanny Association Scholarship Essay by Kenda Horst

What Do Other People Say Are Your Positive Personality Traits?
Thank you for creating this scholarship opportunity for Nannies to attend the International Nanny Association conference. This will be my second time participating at the Conference. For me, these gatherings provide a way to inform and enliven the career that has become my life’swork. It is a great joy to meet and talk with other Nannies from across the country and aroundthe world. These conversations, together with the presentations and workshops, help equip me in new ways as I grow with my children and families in this ever-changing field of work. I recently read the book, Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will To Lead, by Sheryl Sandberg, chief operating officer at Facebook. In the book, she cites a study that women are more likely to affirm another person’s accomplishments than they are to affirm their own. To say this another way, the study says many women find it easier to brag about what other people do than to toot their own horn. This is part of why I particularly appreciate the essay question, “What do other people say are your positive personality traits?” I happen to be one of the people who find it challenging to identify or to affirm my own accomplishments. That said, I have been told by past employers, and by others who know my skills, gifts, and abilities, that I am highly dependable, constant, and predictable. This essay is my attempt to toot my own horn about how these three personality traits play out in my day-to-day work life.


Dependable: to be counted on in various areas of your life.

Constant: to be reliable and predictable over a long period of time.

Predictable: to perform and to do things in a way that is reliable and constant in a daily routine.

When I think of these three words, I am reminded of the kind of Nanny I am, and the kind of Nanny I continually strive to be. The three words can be interchangeable, but they also each stand on their own. Parents find me dependable in that they can ask me to step in and do almost anything in their home and it will be done. I am constant in the ways that I interact with the children and the adults in their lives. The families that I have worked with talk about how I am faithful in providing and supporting a regular, daily routine for their children. I am also consistent with discipline, setting clear limits for children and supporting good boundaries for them as they grow and learn. Parents find these three personality traits in me to be a comfort in how I interact, not only with their children, but also with them. My dependability or reliability is found in the fact that I can be counted on to show up for work each and every day. Parents discover that their children will be cared for in a way that is consistent with their own model as parents. For example, I try to hold the same rules with the children that their parents maintain. Parents also find me dependable in that I will work to make their home and family life as smooth and efficient as possible. I work to ensure that the time I spend with their children is the kind of time they would like. I will also take on additional tasks around the house as needed, to help parents optimize their time with the children when they are home.In my experience, children also find these traits as a source of comfort. I believe that children will thrive when they can explore in a safe space. When I give children consistent boundaries it allows them to extend their roots and spread their wings. When I establish and maintain a regular routine for specific tasks and responsibilities, including meal times, bath times, getting dressed, and picking up toys, children learn a sense of self as well as independence. The constancy and familiarity helps provide a center or a foundation for children as they grow and learn and The question that came to me after reading Lean In by Sheryl Sandberg is, “How as a professional Nanny might I be an even better support to the parents and families I work for? I believe that the three traits listed above will help in a significant way. I would like to see the conversation move to an even deeper place, to a discussion of what families as a whole need in order to thrive, to help provide opportunities for more women to move into more leadership roles in more fields. This is one of the conversations that I would like to have with other Nannies, with my professional colleagues at the INA conference.

Motivation by Katherine (Katie) Dallmeyer

Here is another one of the INA Scholarship submissions. This one is also about Motivation.

INA Scholarship Essay - Motivation by Katie( Katherine) Dallmeyer

He can hear the door opening. The squeak of the hinges and the sound of the latch have captured his attention. His movement pauses. Carefully he concentrates on the low step shuffle dance. The toy that had been so assiduously chewed falls to the side, dampening his cheek on the way down. A voice sounds. It is muffled in the way sounds can only be before the sun has risen.  Could it be…?

“Good morning” and now he knows. Tiny arms wave, legs kick, and he accidentally pokes his own eye. He does not mind though. He knows who is here.

~~

Getting out of a warm bed into the chilly air is always hard, especially if the sun has not even bothered to show his bright countenance yet. It is an even more unwelcome task to scrape the foot of snow that unexpectedly fell overnight off of the car while shivering in sub-zero temperatures. Traffic will be terrible. It may be winter for half the year here, but that will never stop people from forgetting how to drive in inclement weather. Longing thoughts of soft sheets and a warm comforter consume her mind.

She is running late of course. Has there ever been a time breakfast was eaten before the drive? Her stomach grumbles, and she eyes the toasted bagel slowly freezing on the passenger seat. The pros and cons of eating with fingers she can’t feel versus leaving the gloves on and attempting a reheat at work are carefully weighed. Attention is turned back to the road; fingers are truly lovely appendages after all.

Sitting in traffic allows for some last minute planning of the day. A promising nap yesterday points to good moods for a visit to the museum today. A full, exciting day will then hopefully lead to more slumber, giving her the chance to do classwork. Education is important. There is always something new to learn, something new to discover. She finds it on her own through research and school work, and finds it too through his eyes.

This drive to know all shapes how her life is lived. She taps her fingers against the slowly warming steering wheel and remembers a discussion of parenting styles. Nanny friends are the best. Who else would share her zeal and return it with a constructive chit-chat? Feeling more awake at last, she downs the last sip of her coffee and pulls into her regular parking spot. Thank you, God, for heated garages.

The hinges creak. Why is this door so loud? She tries to shut it gently, but a decisive click sounds as the latch catches. Please do not let the noise wake him up if he is still abed! She whispers her greetings to her boss, just in case, and creeps into the main rooms.

Awake, and not by her doing!

“Good morning.”

The sound of her voice produces a volley of movement. He’s excited. His heels bang on the floor, and his bright eyes seek her out. A gummy smile that reveals two tiny, perfect white teeth greet her. He rolls and reaches out in an effort to get closer. She sits.

“Ahh! Ah!”

He is lifted into familiar arms. His hands slap her face, his toes dig into her thighs, and drooly kisses are pressed to her cheek. A wave of love flows through her. He feels it too, feels it and sends a rebounding surge. This is it. This feeling, this moment, the hundreds of moments that have led to it and the hundreds more that will follow. This is her motivation.

Motivation...What Motivates You?

The next few days we will be publishing the scholarship recipients and runners up.  They will be published in random order.

Thank you again to Marni Kent who made this scholarships possible.

MOTIVATION by Susan Fordham

          According to Psychology Today:  “motivation is literally the desire to do things.  It’s the difference between waking up before dawn to pound the pavement and lazing around the house all day.  It’s the crucial element in setting and attaining goals – and research shows you can influence your own levels of motivation and self-control.  So figure out what you want, power through the pain period and start being who you want to be”.

          In the real estate market, you hear every day “the sellers are highly motivated” and in the professional and amateur sports fields, you hear analysts say “what motivates him or her?”  And in my chosen profession, I hear “when will you get motivated to find a REAL job?”

          Where does my motivation come from?  For one, when people say something like that to me!  My motivation comes from the smiles and hugs I get on a daily basis, the boo-boos I am allowed to kiss away each and every day, getting down on the floor to roll a ball across the floor – now that’s motivation for me.  I chose my path in life a very long time ago, but I do believe it chose me a long time before I was aware of it.  I believe I was put on this earth to do what it is I do.  I have a long history of caregiving, some of it was very, very hard and some of it had such rich rewards, it made my heart

sing.  I chose to focus on the rich rewards and not the bad stuff, I chose to get up each and every morning and look out the window for something to make me smile, I chose to set aside special time for me and me alone, in other words, I CHOSE MOTIVATION!

          Motivation comes to me in many different shapes and sizes.  Sometime it shows itself in a hummingbird coming to my feeder or in a peculiar or intriguing cloud formation.  I look for these things in my life, I seek them out – it keeps me going.  My mind is open at all times to find the good in things, even when they can be so dark and scary.  Motivation can be very tricky – you may have to scrape away a few ugly layers to find whatever you need to keep on going.  But keep scraping, you will find it.  There may be times when the motivation is there, but you can’t see it or you don’t WANT to see it.  Maybe sometimes, it’s as easy and as simple as getting up and washing your face, clearing away the cobwebs and see what is right in front of you – MOTIVATION was there all the time!

          Children are my biggest motivator.  All children deserve love, respect and the right to be heard.  It makes no difference what is going in my life, what matters most is what should be happening in their lives.  They should be receiving the best of everything and it is up to US to provide that for them.  Children motivate me to be a better person, they motivate me to be more creative, they motivate me to take more time to smell the roses.  I have the BEST job in the world and I would not give it up for anything or anyone.  So for those people in my life who are waiting for me to find a “real job”, don’t hold your breath – THIS IS MY REAL JOB, THIS IS MY PASSION…THIS IS MY MOTIVATION!!

          

2014 INA Scholarship Recipients

Before I announce the scholarship recipients (All of the entries have been notified via phone or email) I want to say a huge from the bottom of my heart thank you to my friend and colleague Marni Kent for making this years scholarships happen.
I would also like to let you all know that Marni has already committed to repeating these scholarships for the 2015 International Nanny Association

When I say that the essay entries were outstanding this year, I really mean they were outstanding. Nanny Magazine and Regarding Nannies you should take advantage of their writing talent! INA Newsletter, we  know some nannies that can write!
It was so difficult to choose only 3 and Marni being the generous person that she is decided to contribute 2 more gifts of $50 to go toward registration for 2 more essay entries which are contingent upon conference attendance.

The scholarships for new nannies who have never attended conference go to
Susan Fordham and
Jenn Farlow.
The scholarship for a previous conference attendee goes to

Lisa Willis.
The $50 gifts contingent upon conference attendance go to Katherine Dallmeyer and
 Kenda Horst.

INA sets up their early registration so that nannies can try to take advantage of these opportunities but if it doesn’t work out they can still take advantage of the early bird registration.

We do hope to meet you all at the INA Conference. I speak for both myself and Marni when I say that INA has made a huge impact on our personal and professional lives and it is worth the effort to be there.

Essay contest process

Well it's 11:30 and our committee has finally agreed on 3 Scholarship recipients.

They will be notified tomorrow via email or phone. (Did you think I was going to tell you early?)

We want to thank all of you that submitted essays. They were all outstanding and we were truly impressed with the time and effort (not to mention talent) of our essay writers.
This was such a difficult decision, we have been pouring over essays since early this morning.
Before we announce the scholarship recipients I wanted to share with you a little bit about the process of how we choose.
First of all, since January 22 my dear friend and fellow nanny Gael Ann has been monitoring the nannytransitions gmail account.
I sign out of the account and as the essays come in, Gael Ann has her own password, she goes through, removes any identifying information that she can from the essay and assigns them a letter and then emails them to us.
Once we have all the essays, we (Marni Kent, Christy Ochs and myself) read them, make sure they have followed all the guidelines and then we vote for our 3 top choices.
Once we have decided on who the scholarships will go to, then and only then are the names of the essay contributors revealed to us.
The essays were outstanding and we chose 3 winners and 2 runners up.
Stay tuned 

INA Scholarships for the 2014 INA Conference

Transitions by Marni Kent and details on the 3 INA Conference Scholarships

(The first part of this  article by Marni Kent was previously published in December 2013, but this post includes the specifics of the INA Conference Scholarships for 2014)

TRANSITIONS BY MARNI KENT
Just like many of you, I myself have gone through transitions that have changed my life; personally and professionally.
When things like this happen I suppose the first thing to ask yourself is, what's the situation and why don't you think it can change? Sometimes things feel impossible but that's because we are depressed or too close to the situation to see clearly. There might be a solution if you can talk to someone about it; a friend, family member or someone who has been there like a peer.

Beyond that, how do you stay strong? Well, for most people it's really just a matter of getting through it. Getting up every day, eating, showering, going to work/school/whatever and coming home, sleeping and doing it all over again. That doesn't sound very helpful but that's how it generally is; life keeps going on no matter what and you go along with it and eventually some time has passed and things change or you don't feel as bad anymore. Some people find solace in religion or spirituality, some distract themselves with books and TV and friends, and some people can't enjoy anything so they just feel terrible all the time.
 If you're able to still enjoy things, try to spend as much time doing those things as possible, and wait it out. Nothing stays the same forever.

When I reached out to a friend/ peer when I was going through a difficult time in life (Glenda Propst the owner of Nanny Transitions) she gave me advice that at the moment did not fit all of what I was going through but on down the road it clicked.
Eventually I realized that there are some stages of transition that apply whether the transition is work or personal.
Over the last few years, I have found Nanny Transitions to be an amazing source not just for myself but for sharing with other nannies.
This year I am going to sponsor 3 Scholarships to the 2014 INA Conference.
Two scholarships will go to nannies who have never been to the INA Conference and one will go to a nanny who has attended a previous conference.
The scholarship recipients will be able to choose from 4 different topics to write their essays.

Here are the guidelines for the Nanny Transitions INA Conference Scholarship.

NANNY TRANSITIONS INA CONFERENCE SCHOLARSHIP 

In order to qualify for the Nanny Transitions INA Conference Scholarship, you must meet the following qualifications.

·                     You must be currently working as a nanny at least 24 hours a week.
                      (If you are a nanny in transition, looking for a new position, please let us know)

·                     You must be a member of INA as of February 15, 2014.

You must go to the Nanny Transitions page on Facebook and like the page.

   By submitting this essay you are committing to attend the 2014 INA Annual Conference.

INA Board of Directors, conference speakers and workshop presenters, conference sponsors who receive complimentary registration, the 2013 and 2014 INA Nanny of the Year award recipients are not eligible for this prize.

To Apply

Submit an essay on one of the following topics:

             1)   Motivation is really about your own personal commitment and goals.
             Tell us what motivates you?

      2)      What do other people say are your positive personality traits?

                       Example - I am a go getter, with a proven track record of success.
            3)      What has been your biggest challenge as you have gone through your job transition?
               What has Nanny Transitions helped you learn from it?

             4)       What are you most looking forward to at this years conference?

   Your essay must be at minimum 500-1,000 words. 

(No more than 1,000 and, no less than 500)

 Do not include information in your essay that would identify you, such as the name of your city. We would like to keep the submissions as anonymous as possible.

       Essay must be submitted between Wednesday January 22 and Saturday February 1, 2014                11:59pm EST

        Use spell check and count your words.
        Recipient will be chosen by content and presentation of essay.

There will be 3 Scholarships awarded.

2 scholarships for nannies who have never attended an INA Conference and

 1 for a current nanny member.

Scholarship recipients will be notified via phone and/or  email on Monday, February 3, 2014.

This will give those of you who do not receive a scholarship, time to take advantage of the early bird registration rates.

Previous scholarship recipients do not qualify. 

Essay submissions should be sent to: Nannytransitions@gmail.com

If you have any questions, feel free to email us your questions
before you submit your essay.nannytranstions@gmail.com

INA 29th Annual Conference

March 27-30, 2014
Hilton Los Angeles Airport
Los Angeles, CA

- See more at

:http://www.nanny.org/annual-conference/2014-annual-conference/

               By submitting this essay you are committing to attending the 2014 INA Conference.

You understand that you are responsible for your transportation to and from the conference,
your hotel room and any other expenses incurred at the 2014 INA Conference.

You have discussed this with your employers and
they have agreed to give you the time off to attend the conference.

These scholarships are sponsored by Nanny Transitions and funded completely by a generous donation from Marni Kent, INA’s 2002 Nanny of the Year.