The Story of Us - Part Four

I figured that since I knew no one in Boston, and since I was living on a teacher's salary (Savings? What's that?), the best way to move there might be to find a job as a live-in nanny and maybe go to school at the same time.

I found a job with a family in Wellesley, Massachusetts (posh posh!) and lived with two amazing kids and their mom, who was a lawyer and traveled a lot.

My belongings fit into the U-haul like a jigsaw puzzle, and used just about every single square inch of space. (How does a single woman accumulate so much junk?) My brother and I drove the U-haul up from Philadelphia while my parents and sister followed in their car. It was a hot Friday in July, and the air conditioner in the truck didn't work. Matt kept challenging people to races at the tolls through the open window, which was hilarious considering the thing was fully loaded and topped out at about 50 mph full throttle.

The family was away the weekend I moved in, and so we had the house to ourselves as we unloaded my things and put them into my little rooms above the garage. This was to be my new home. For how long, I didn't know.

I cried when my family left. I didn't think I would.

It just hit me: What on earth was I doing here?!

The family returned that Sunday evening, and I settled into life as a nanny. It had its challenges, but I loved spending time with the kids. On weekends, I'd venture into the city to try to learn my way around.

I loved Boston. I loved the history (and I hate History). I loved that I could walk around the whole city in a day. I loved the museums and the Commons and the Garden, walking around Beacon Hill and window shopping on Newbury Street. I loved watching the street performers outside of Quincy Market. I went into town every Saturday and walked around by myself.

I took my GREs and applied to Boston College for their Master's in Teaching program.

I tried Match.com again, in an effort to get out and start meeting people since I often had weekends off. I went on a few dates, but didn't really click with anyone.

By November, I had been in Boston for four months and I was starting to get pretty lonely. I mean, sure I lived with a family, but they weren't my family. I was alone most of the day while the kids were in school - running errands or doing laundry, alone in the evenings after they went to bed, and alone on the weekends.

I felt like maybe I'd made a mistake.