It’s a new game that is a combination of hide-and-seek & the box office hit movie “Transformers.” Want to learn how to play? For more information check out the blogspot.

This particular game was created one morning while I found Darrien was in a very energetic mood. I was looking for something that might wear him out a little so he would be tired by the time I had to put Rex down for a nap. (Anyone who has taken care of children knows that fatigue equals quiet, and quiet equals Rex getting a good nap.)

Along with the upcoming labor day weekend came the day that I had to tell Darrien (the 7 year old) that I wasn’t going to be working that day. Now before I begin to tell you what happened let me let you in on a bit of information I have recently realized that he has grown quite fond of the past few months. Now onto the story:

It started as a run-of-the-mill type of evening. Walk to the school, find the boy in the chaos of the school yard, possibly play a game of hide-and-seek, and then begin the walk home. All was going well, and Darrien had begun discussing how his day at school went and his plans for the weekend. The scenery was nice and calm, besides the occasional honking of a horn from the traffic on the street, it was beginning to be a rather nice walk home. Somehow or another, Monday September 3rd was brought up. To all who don’t recognize the date- it is this year’s Labor Day. Now, let me remind you at this moment in time I had not realized how much he enjoyed having me around, and before I knew it, the information that I was off work that Monday slipped out of my mouth and manifested inside his head.

It was at this very moment that the mood of the evening took a drastic turn for the worse. I immediately saw a change in Darrien. It was as if I had pushed the little red button in movies that says “DO NOT PUSH”. The missile was launched and I braced myself for impact. BOOM! His face reddened, tears welled up in his eyes and I do believe I heard the sound of his heart break. I was awe-struck. This is the same boy who I’ve had not one, but many disagreements with over the silliest of things. The boy who has on numerous occasions spoken the dreaded phrase of “I HATE YOU”. I didn’t know what to say, to be honest I was quite touched. A slight smile arose from my lips and I tried my best to hide it from the very, very upset Darrien. He ran to the van that was parked around the corner and slouched down in the seat. I got in and tried my best to console him and then proceeded to drive him home.

I walked into the house and pulled Pam aside. I relayed the information about his break down and that she might want to have a talk with him to explain that the world wasn’t ending– I would be back on Tuesday. Darrien sat on Pam’s lap and balled his eyes out. She asked what was wrong, and without hesitation, he pointed at me. I let out a quiet chuckle, as I was still completely in awe that he was so upset and didn’t know what to do. Words cannot describe the feeling I had at that moment. A cup of ice cream later and a big hug from me and he was okay again. By the time he calmed down, I had to head home to do the ever so lovely activity of studying. What a day

Since I left my job at the local Walgreens and became the nanny Manny of Rex (now officially a 1 year old) and Darrien (soon to be 7 years old) I have yet to have a day at work where I didn’t laugh.

I’ve learned mind-numbing amounts of information about children over the past few months, and have even come to the realization of what its like to indeed be a child once again. Being the Manny requires the ability to get into the mindset of a child, but still be able to be an authority figure and keep the rules in place. When it comes to watching over two young, growing boys you better be ready to play hard and eat a lot. I love food and physical activities though, so this job suits me quite well :). Over the past 5 months I have grown very fond of Darrien and Rex, and view them as temporary younger brothers that I never had & always wanted.

People say, “Oh.. you babysit?”, and to this I reply, “I’m a MANny. You see a desk or a register everyday when you go to work; I see the smile on two young faces when I walk in the door– A smile that says so much without them even having to speak. Nothing beats that, and you know it.”

We would like to introduce you to our featured guest blogger Brent Burleigh, “The Manny” as we like to call him. He has been working for Happy Panda all year long and has hands on experience with children ranging in ages newborn to seven. Yes, he really has all the experiences of bottle feedings, burping, diaper changes, and everything else that comes with caring for babies. He’s a great addition to the Happy Panda family and he’s great with photoshop! He is working his way through college and we will hate to see him go when he leaves for Texas A&M - Whoop! Until then we will continue to enjoy working with him and watching him juggle all the children. We are sure that his opinions and tips will be a great addition to our site.