Friday, March 6, 2015

The Babysitting

I was just writing a scene in #NovelSnip where Frank comes home and relieves a nanny called Marie.  So, it's a new time in the story, with Alice as a baby.  And while I was thinking about those awkward moments when the parents come home and the babysitter tries to leave quickly, I remembered something funny about my own dad.  Here it is:

He hated to call babysitters to ask them to watch us.  I can relate to this feeling because I also hate to call babysitters, or really anyone I'm not pals with. Lucky for me, we now have this thing called "text."  I just text the babysitters.  Before that, there was email.  So, I have the communication advantage here.  Anyway, my dad hated it so much, that as soon as I was old enough, he had me call them myself.

"Try to get a babysitter for Friday night," I remember him saying.  And then, I'd go down the list of names on the sheet on the side of the refrigerator.  I think I must have been about seven.  I'd say, "Hi, So-and-So, it's KC.  Can you babysit for me and Kevin on Friday night?"  And there'd be a little negotiation.  Sometimes, the sitters would say, "Do your parents know you're asking?"  How funny would it have been if they didn't, and then I'd just be like, "Surprise, Mom and Dad!  You're going out!" Even better if I could just hand them a gift certificate their car keys when the sitter came to the door.

2 comments:

mm said...

When I was back in my hometown for the funeral, I saw a former babysitter. I asked if she remembered me, and she said she did. I'm not sure if this was good or bad, but my parents were lucky to have her across the street.

LH said...

I didn't like to call them. Husbandman usually did it and I was super grateful.