Nanny Cara takes PA

Several months ago, I agreed to be Nanny Cara in Pennsylvania while my friend Steph cruised down the Rhine. It was a Christmas Cruise, and in the waning weeks of summer, I didn't think about the implications of agreeing to spend ten days in PA in December. 

It gets dark there at 4:15 pm!

No kidding, dusk creeps in at 4:00 pm, and by 4:30 pm, the sky is black ink. Dark. Like midnight in Florida dark. I thought 8:30 was bedtime! I got accustomed to drinking hot tea while the sun disappeared as if being chased by a demon.

Large houses are cold!

I loved that aspect at night, snuggled under the awesome blanket on my bed. During the day, though, not so much. I realized you have to dress in layers. For this Florida gal, who purchased long-sleeved clothes before heading north, that meant a wool cardigan. When I was hot, it came off, and when I got cold, it went back on. I was forever stripping and then re-dressing. Chores ramped up the body heat, but sitting and writing lowered it.

Snow!

Before I went, I worried about driving in the snow. That wasn't a favorite of mine when I lived in Indiana, and now that I've been in Florida for over thirty years--yeah, I was not looking forward to doing that. Luckily, it snowed and sleeted once, but the temperature was over fifty. Other than a gray, slushy, wet day and having to use my windshield wipers, that was doable. 

Small-town mentality!

I insisted on getting there before the responsible parent left on her trip so she could fill me in on the deets. Having been to PA last April, I knew locking doors was unheard of, and kids ran the neighborhood unsupervised. 

During this trip, I learned an antibiotic administered twice a day, no matter the time, was fine, and kids running wild extended to downtown and sketchy towns with abbreviated initials. Although, that last one might have been the kid pulling one over on the nanny.

Before I arrived, we Face-Timed. This was where I learned The Kid was self-sufficient and had a huge entourage. 

Me: "I'll need to meet and interrogate your friends. I'll come with a list of questions."

The Kid: "Please, don't embarrass me."

Me: 

The week went well. I left a day before The Kid's mother returned. The kid was alive and in someone else's capable hands at the airport where I was dropped off. 

I also kept a journal. Follow along on Nanny Cara's and the Kid's adventures!