Friday, March 4, 2011

The Babysitter Dilemma

  Today has been a rather uneventful day.  I stayed home in my pajamas for most of the day, doing some things on the computer and cleaning the house while little D and Lincoln went behind me and destroyed it. The hubby had to leave again for a week, despite the fact that he has only been home for a week, but oh well.  Such is the life we lead.  I had heard about a local photographer having an exhibit tonight with pictures that she had taken in southeast Asia.    Check out her website and you'll see why I want to go see her work.  http://www.suwaneephotography.com/.  My friend had told me about her photography talent and I would really like to go to the exhibit, so since my husband is gone I need to find a babysitter because there is no way in h-e-double hockey sticks that I am taking all my kids to something like that.  That ranks right up there with the embarrassment of asking a camera crew to film you at the obstetrician's office.
  That brings me to the arduous task of finding a babysitter.  Once upon a time I practically had someone's background checked in order to babysit my kids.  And there was a long list of do's and don'ts that the sitter had to follow in order to have the privilege to watch my two oldest sons.  I paid a sitter a reasonable $6 an hour, and that was if she was really good.  Now that I have four boys, I practically have to beg and plead for someone to watch them.  My only requirements now are that she has a pulse and can speak English or pig-latin.  And I pay an incredible ten dollars an hour for someone to sit over here and make sure my kids stay alive.  Most of the time, apparently even that is too much to ask.  While having a babysitter over here, I have come home some times to find doors locked from the outside with no-one in them and no keys, second floor windows wide open and handprints in the snow on the roof outside the window, the house thoroughly trashed, and a trail of Ritz crackers leading up to Lincoln's room, as if that was how she got him into his crib.  
  Despite the thought of coming home to a house that is worse than I left it (and that is hard to do), and taking out a small business loan in order to pay for a night of relaxation, I still do it?  Why?  Because the alternative is me in a straight jacket and paying for years of intense therapy.  And time away from my kids and from being a person other than mommy, makes me a better mommy in the long run.  So it's a win-win.
  Cross your fingers that I'll find a babysitter tonight...

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