This weekend, as I depended a large amount on a tremendous babysitter, I began to reflect on my previous babysitting career, and though I wasn’t quite as pro Kristy, Dawn, and Mary Anne, I definitely had some opinions. Behold my confessions, with their ”matured” realizations:
When I used to babysit, I would judge the parents for having hard-to-open junk drawers and dirty floors..
Now I know, this is why the parents left and paid me to stay there.
I used to be dissatisfied if there was a low amount of pre-packaged treats.
Pre-packaged food is more expensive, and now greatly stigmatized. But stick around, next year I’ll be packing lunches five days a week, so we should improve in this area.
I used to balk at parents for letting their children have pacifiers past infantdom.
Next time, on your way over, if you could swing by the store and pick some up, I’ll reimburse you. We all use them over here.
I used to wonder if these mothers leaving in their workout clothes were really working out.
They probably were. I never am. I dress that way to make myself feel better for not showering.
I used to be really impressed with what they paid me.
That’s why I pay you that same amount. It just dawned on me that 15 years has gone by.
I was always overwhelmed by the number of remotes and usually surrendered to watching Mary Poppins (the most mature child choice) after bedtime.
I do not know how to work our third remote. M.P. is in the pile of DVDs on the shelf.
Late at night, when I was tired of watching TV, I would go through all the family photo albums and be amused by the outdated wedding dresses.
No albums. Embarassing framed pictures are underneath Sophia’s bed. Get a good look before she goes to sleep.
I remember wondering what this one mother was doing – she did not work outside the home and always left with her journal and some books. (She also had Oprah quotes taped up around the house.)
I can only hope that this dear woman has since discovered blogging.
Sweet Babysitters,Thank you. And feel free to judge me. I had it coming.
