I eagerly anticipated my son's 12th birthday. Of course, I was sad to see my little boy grow up, but I was excited that he could become our resident babysitter. John is very responsible and trustworthy, and almost never locks his sisters in the bathroom.
You see, we had paid for 12 years of babysitting. Over the years fees have skyrocketed to almost $20 an hour and this was putting a damper on our date nights. When you factor in the sitting fees on top of dinner and a movie (and absolutely forget it if you want popcorn and a drink), things were getting out of hand. Yes, I was beginning to think we no longer could afford romance.
But, hurrah! John turned 12 this summer and we began to groom him for his next career: sibling management. Our biggest expectation was that his siblings were still alive when we returned home. Afterall, that was pretty much what we expected from our professional sitters--unfortunately, that's about all you get for your 20 bucks around here.
Considering he's a boy scout and has earned his first aid badge, he's actually more qualified in some ways than our previous sitters, too. We went over the rules and expectations. We made a checklist and gave him bed times and chores that needed to be done. He had his trusty list of phone numbers and was briefed on dialing 911.
When he sits, we don't go far. Maybe to the local movie theater or a nearby restaurant (we're talking one or two blocks). The girls have consistently been alive and well-cared for upon our return. I even found myself daydreaming about the day that we might be able to go away for the weekend. I knew this was years in my future, but a girl can dream.
Well, a girl can dream until she is watching The Real Housewives of Orange County. In this particular episode, the mom and dad were going for a night away, but had to have the grandma come and watch their 16 and 18 year olds so that they didn't get into trouble. This is where I begin to bang the remote control against my head.
What? I have to hire babysitters when my kids are 18? What? This means I only have a few years of sitter fee freedom? The world is a cruel, cold, confusing place. I have so much to learn.
5 comments:
Hi Deb, I can totally relate. My girls are now 14 and 12 and while I am sad at how fast it is flying by, I am SO HAPPY I don't need babysitters. I loved the photo, too. Very cool. And I am totally a closet Real Housewives addict!!!! There, I said it:-)
I'm glad someone else can relate. I was wondering if other parents felt this way or if it was just me?
When you can't get excited about their first steps and first words anymore, it's nice to be excited about their big kid accomplishments.
Hi Deb! Just wanted to drop a note and say 'hi'! Came over from the Follow Me Club at Mom Bloggers Club.
At first, your post gave me such hope - since I have yet to spend one whole day without my baby boy - but then you had to add in that little fact about the RH getting their teens baby sat... AGH! It's like it will never end! ;-)
Hi.
I saw that episode of Real Housewives. It's ironic that in the next episode they served the older girls a couple of drinks. Duh.
I love your blog! I just gave you the Kreativ Blogger Award, come on over to my blog to pick it up!:)
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