As a parent I've been very spoiled. Not just because I have an amazing little girl for a daughter... but because I've been blessed with wonderful babysitters. In Riverdale, I had the cream of the crop. Working in the junior high of a neighborhood school, I would hand pick my most favorite, most responsible students to be my babysitters. I really could trust them because I knew so much about them: their parents, their siblings, their social security numbers (okay that last one is just a lie). I had friends calling me saying, "Can you look at your class list and find me a babysitter?" It was awesome. Fast forward a couple of months and I find myself 6,000 miles away in a place called Buchman. Its a beautiful new suburban town, where the oldest kids are about 10 years old. You know what that means. Dearth of babysitters. When you find one here you don't let them go, and you most certainly don't share them with someone else (unless you're super nice or just stupid). Unfortunately for me, I haven't found one yet, and as wonderful as my daughter is, she is kind of particular about the adults she likes. While this might be asking a lot, I not only wanted to find a responsible babysitter who spoke English, I also wanted to find one that Ayelet would like. So pathetic as it may seem, we really haven't been out much at all. My parents babysat once, my brother babysat once, and my neighbor just once or twice. I decided it was time to be a little more aggressive about this because... I need to get out!
I was at the park today with Ayelet. It was a warm but cloudy day, so there weren't very many park goers at all. It was basically just us and a group of teenage girls- who were speaking English. I looked at them and thought, they can't possibly be younger than 12. Its worth a try. I approached them. I kept thinking this is crazy, who am I? What kind of mother picks up a random teenager and asks her to babysit her daughter. But I went for it anyway. I asked one of the girls her age, her grade, where she lives, parents names, does she have experience babysitting, for who, etc. The exchange went well, and best of all, Ayelet had a twinkle in her eye and immediately connected with this 8th grade girl. She gave me her number and I just left her a message a couple of minutes ago, asking if shes available tomorrow night. Tomorrow night is not just an ordinary Monday night. Its the night before the elections. Practically the whole country has off on election day. Its our only real vacation day other than religous chagim and Independance day. Simply put: tomorrow night is the equivalent of Wednesday night before Thanksgiving, except it only happens once every 4 years! I'll do whatever it takes to get a babysitter and go out!
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2 comments:
This may lead to whole genre of "babbysitter pickup lines".
1. Do you have a map? I keep getting lost in your responsible-and-trustworthy looking eyes.
2. Is your name Kristy Thomas? because you must be one of the girls from the Babysitters Club. (I had to google for that info)
I have two, almost three teenage daughters, here in Buchman, who babysit and are always looking for jobs to help with their mall habit. You can find my e-mail address through my blog.
I've enjoyed reading through your posts.
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