Blind Trust

When I was a freshman at Auburn, way back when (yikes, 1994/95), I was sitting in Chapter minding my own business when a sorority sister stood up and announced she wouldn’t be able to fulfill her duties next summer as a nanny for the family she’d been with for two years. She was looking for someone to take her place, that she trusted to recommend to the family, and who would give nannying a good name.

Hmm. Interesting. I loved St. Simons. I had been going there all my life. I liked to babysit. I liked kids. It was only one little girl. I had nothing better to do the next summer. What the hell?!

So after Chapter, I talked to her and she told me she would get in touch with the family and pass my information on to them. Great! This will be fun! I told my parents about it and they were all, “ok, sounds neat, whatever” (I think they thought I wouldn’t do it).

After a couple of phone call “interviews” with the mom and dad, seeing a picture they mailed via snail mail and sending them my picture via snail mail, the job was mine! I was going to live at the beach, in their house, GET PAID and take care of their only daughter…a precious, bright, half-spoiled-but-certainly-not-rotten eight year old named Haley.

Spring quarter was over. I packed up my little Cavalier, stopped through Fort Valley to see the parents and get a handful of money and do some laundry and off I went. Alone. To St. Simons. To pull up in front of a house, get out of the car, walk up with a suitcase and go in to spend the summer. Without having ever met them before in my life.

This, my friends, is trust. Blind Trust.

Granted, I knew the girl who had been their nanny the two years prior. But as far as my family and I knew, they could be serial killers or whatever. But they were anything but.

I was greeted at the door by an adorable little girl, a fabulously successful mom, a loving, caring and super cool dad and two yippy dogs, Happy and LaRue (may they both rest in peace now). I was welcomed into their home with open arms. I don’t remember being nervous at all.

I lived in their house for 3 months. I was paid to take care of Haley during the day. We spent days doing crafts, going to the pool, having play dates, playing games, coloring and hitting the mall. I can’t remember why, but we weren’t allowed to go to the beach. Maybe Haley can tell me why, but we just weren’t.

Every night Ms. Maggie made a fabulous dinner. I took a few recipes from the time I spent there and they are our family favorites to this day! I think my parents did come down that first summer at some point. But for the most part, they trusted that I was there and taken care of.

Mr. Jim was as protective as my dad would be. One night he even asked me, “Are you going to wear THAT out?” He and I would chat about golf and talk smack about Auburn and Florida State. We watched when Tiger Woods won the Amateur title and launched into the big time (yes, that was pre-Tiger-train-wreck). He just beams with pride when you talk about his Haley… it’s so sweet!

Haley and I bonded that first summer. I couldn’t wait to come back the next year. After I went back to Auburn for Fall quarter, she would send me letters and pictures and we would chat on the phone every now and then. I was asked to come back the next summer and couldn’t wait for it to get there.

It was amazing the difference a year made as far as Haley’s growth and maturity. That second summer included a lot more play dates, tennis camp, a defunct kayak trip that we had to leave with Haley screaming because she was scared (funny that later in life she climbed to the peak of Mt. Rainier), an evacuation due to a hurricane and the summer Olympics. My roommate from Auburn had a nanny gig-gone-bad but ended up staying the rest of the summer anyway. We were old enough at that point to go out at night. The summer also included local, bartending boyfriends for both of us who turned out to be jerks. But all in all, we had a great time that summer!

I left that summer knowing that I wouldn’t be able to come the next year because I had to do my internship but that I had a surrogate family that I would always remain close to.

That little girl is about to be 24 years old! She was a little 12 year old beauty at my wedding. I was there when she graduated from high school with a zillion honors… I take ALL the credit for it. I tried my darnedest to be there when she graduated with another billion honors from the University of Southern California but couldn’t make it work. But again, I take all the credit for her success there, too. One day, I will get a wedding invitation from her and it will make my heart smile. I’ve seen their family many times since then (including yesterday). They came to support us when Charlie died. They have kept us posted on major events and surgeries and pet deaths, as we have kept them posted.

Here’s to my precious Haley. Who I now consider way more of a friend than a “kid I used to babysit for”. Love ya forever, girl and I’m so sorry I have to post this picture (but I had kinda a hot body… obviously pre-kids).

And here’s little Haley now – all grown up (and her cutie boyfriend Terry):