June 08, 2005 - 7:03 p.m.

Lone Star Rising

Come September, I will be in Dallas, Texas. This week I accepted an internship offer in the Child Life department of Children's Medical Center of Dallas. I am on cloud nine, because that hospital is one of the top ten pediatric hospitals in the country and the Child Life program is fantastic. They have seven playrooms, a huge staff, music therapists, an ample funding. I get to do two six-week rotations in any of about a dozen different deparments: PICU, oncology, hematology, radiology, the ER, and so on. And an internship at this hospital will look great on my resume. Plus, I was one of four interns chosen from more than 30 applicants. So, I am reasonably pleased with myself.

It's both exciting and daunting to know that I will be finally embarking on this new career. It's also sinking in that I am in the final months of my tenure as this family's nanny. That is going to be tough. The girls are very understanding that I really want to help kids in hospitals, and they have even said they think I will be good at it. Foolish at it may sound, that means a lot to me. B is having a harder time with me leaving, but he is younger and more selfish. I am completely ready for this step, but taking it is still going to be very emotional. Especially since I will be so far away from the kids. At best I will only be able to visit once in the four months I will be in Dallas, and who knows where I will get a job after that. So, I suspect there will be lots of emails and phone calls, and I intend to write them letters and postcards, probably weekly. And I confess that even though I was beginning to stagnate in this position, I feel some pangs of jealousy when I think of the kids with a new nanny. At least we have the summer to have lots of fun, rack up the memories, and even get on each other's nerves.

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flutter back - fly ahead