babysitting, from a new perspective
The youngster had a babysitting gig Saturday night...same folks he has always done this for. They picked him up shortly after 6:00 and told him they'd be back around 11:00. OK, so far.
I watched football and hung out (the wife was out of town). The Gators won a squeaker over South Carolina. Wake Forest was rocking FSU's world...11:00 came and went. OK, a few extra bucks for the youngster...no big deal. 12:00 came and went. I'm thinking he's probably asleep on the couch or something over there, so I don't want to call and wake him up. At the same time, I'm worried. What the hell is going on? 12:30 came and went. I'm not sure what to do, but there's no way in hell I could sleep. I think everything's OK, but that little bit of doubt is creeping in, and that "what the hell is going on?" thing in my brain is getting a whole lot louder. 1:00 comes and I'm on the porch, trying to will their car around the corner. Again, I don't want to call, because I'm figuring he's alseep there and I don't want to wake him. I probably should have driven over, but I thought...how would that look? They meet me halfway bringing him home and nobody's at the house when he gets there. Hindsight being what it is, I probably shouldn't have cared how it looked. I was watching the post game stuff on Sports Center looping through the third or fourth time. It was 1:00 and my tired brain wasn't functioning all that well. Ten minutes later they pulled up. A tired youngster walked in the house and tried to give me their excuse, but his brain wasn't functioning in awake mode either...and it was all over, but I still couldn't sleep 'til about 2:00.
Apparently the couple rode to their destination with someone else and got stranded, and couldn't get back home. I'm guessing the word "cab" isn't in their lexicon. I don't know if I can survive too many babysitting nights like that. Just, if you have some kid babysitting for you and you stay out late, think about it. It's not just the kid you're keeping up and out. It's the parents behind the kid, too.
I watched football and hung out (the wife was out of town). The Gators won a squeaker over South Carolina. Wake Forest was rocking FSU's world...11:00 came and went. OK, a few extra bucks for the youngster...no big deal. 12:00 came and went. I'm thinking he's probably asleep on the couch or something over there, so I don't want to call and wake him up. At the same time, I'm worried. What the hell is going on? 12:30 came and went. I'm not sure what to do, but there's no way in hell I could sleep. I think everything's OK, but that little bit of doubt is creeping in, and that "what the hell is going on?" thing in my brain is getting a whole lot louder. 1:00 comes and I'm on the porch, trying to will their car around the corner. Again, I don't want to call, because I'm figuring he's alseep there and I don't want to wake him. I probably should have driven over, but I thought...how would that look? They meet me halfway bringing him home and nobody's at the house when he gets there. Hindsight being what it is, I probably shouldn't have cared how it looked. I was watching the post game stuff on Sports Center looping through the third or fourth time. It was 1:00 and my tired brain wasn't functioning all that well. Ten minutes later they pulled up. A tired youngster walked in the house and tried to give me their excuse, but his brain wasn't functioning in awake mode either...and it was all over, but I still couldn't sleep 'til about 2:00.
Apparently the couple rode to their destination with someone else and got stranded, and couldn't get back home. I'm guessing the word "cab" isn't in their lexicon. I don't know if I can survive too many babysitting nights like that. Just, if you have some kid babysitting for you and you stay out late, think about it. It's not just the kid you're keeping up and out. It's the parents behind the kid, too.
John put this out here at 9:49 AM
1 Comments:
Oh, good god. My daughter is 12, and begging to babysit. She's ready, too. And she'll be good at it.
I forgot about the "waiting up" part for the kid to come home. I have to admit to being one of those parents who has stayed out later than I should have with a sitter.
Oh hell. What goes around comes around, doesn't it???
Damn.
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