What were you grateful for this week?My relationship with the kids.

What was the most difficult or challenging part of this week?Getting frustrated with my level of Italian. 

Tell us about a “wow” moment you had this week. This whole week, honestly. [My host mom] was out of town for the week for work, so I had to do things that I’d never done before and I was actually amazed by how smoothly everything went. 

Tell us about your week! So, the past two weeks have been incredibly eye opening for me! I have been here for nearly seven months, and I fully feel like I am a part of the family. I know that I am appreciated, loved, and thought of. There are few things that I feel uncomfortable or panicked doing (although I do still struggle with certain things because the kids are difficult), anytime [my host mom] says “Okay, so there’s this thing that you haven’t done before that I need you to do…” (smiling while she says it) I respond with “Hit me. I’m not afraid”. It’s a nice feeling. [My host mom] went away for work this week, because her work season has begun. She will do 17 different work trips in the next six months, so this was the first of many weeks like this one. I was nervous at first, but it was more the anticipation of KNOWING that this time of year would eventually happen. And then it was actually happening and I wasn’t nervous anymore. For the weekend, [my host dad] wanted to go up to the Mountain House. Which I stayed back from last weekend, because I felt like I really just needed a break. This month had been really difficult for me, and I didn’t like that I felt as though I wasn’t being the best that I could be with the kids. 

So I obviously agreed to go this weekend, because I knew that it was just [my host dad] and the other nanny, L, and it would be a mess without me. And, although it was a bit more work than is usually expected of me, he was incredibly vocal about how appreciative he was of me and It was so nice to hear. I also felt like superwoman afterwards.