I Was A Male Nanny!

     Page Six.
     Boy were they surprised! The Van Myms I mean. When they posted their room available in exchange for child-care I'm sure it didn't occur to them at all that a male would inquire.
     When I was very young and then again, during my teen years, my parents rented out spare bedrooms to get extra cash. We lived between two colleges, Case Western Reserve University and John Carroll University so we simply posted at the universities and subsequently had many students living with us. In the spring of 1982 when it was time for me to move out (age 20) I knew to check the colleges for off-campus living, a venue that most young people didn't know about. At Case I saw this posting for free living quarters and food in exchange for weekly Nanny care, once-a-week dinner prep and weekly laundry. I thought, "I can do that." And, I could. Trick was to convince this family in question. So, when she answered the phone and I explained who and what I was she said, "You? You're interested in being our live-in Nanny?"
     "Yes'm. Poor Little Ole' Me." As she recuperated from her initial shock and gave me the quick phone interview, she realized that I wasn't a novelty act. I'd been baby-sitting heavily since a young teen, I'd been cooking since age four and I'd been doing my own laundry since age seven. Nobody, but nobody, would make this stuff up. She explained that she and her husband both worked long hours, she was a pediatrician and he was an investment counselor and they had two daughters, ages three and six. The girls had a regular day-care but there were a couple of holes in the household that needed coverage: Friday night baby-sitting, family dinner on Wednesdays and never-ending laundry. The parents' work schedule simply couldn't maneuver around those chasms. "No problemo." I said. "Bring it on." 
     When I went to meet them some days later after they'd all gotten over their initial trepidation, she realized what a Jewish Mother I am. (She'd tell me that many months later.) Though the household was ultra-ULTRA-UUUUUULTRAAAAAA Protestant they knew the value of Jewish mothering. She also very quickly realized the value of non-traditional role models. (She'd tell me that many months later also.) So I moved in.
     About a month after moving in they took away my eating rights because they realized that my appetite would force them each to ask for raises. (Ahhhh... the Golden Days of my appetite. But that's a separate story.) At about the same time though, they let me start using their spare car on Saturday nights. So it was an even trade I thought. The situation would ultimately end up being mostly wonderful. It lasted until late summer of 1983 when they moved. When daughter #2 found out that I wouldn't be moving with them she cried and carried on. Also, a few times over the year and a half of my stay, daughters occasionally called me Daddy. That concerned the parents but they told me they preferred that response from their kids as opposed to the opposite. ("I don't have to listen to you. You're not my Daddy! I don't even like you!!!")
     Sadly, I haven't stayed in touch with them over the years. But Cleveland is a small town. I hear things. They'd eventually get divorced and Dad's now remarried with another child. Both daughters are well I think and Mom knows how to take care of herself. In fact, Mom is considered one of Cleveland's finest Pediatricians according to our local press. I'm incredibly grateful for the experience of being their live-in Nanny. It set me on a fantastic path.