Baby-Sitter Club: On the Fence
Last night, I received a request from the mommy of the sweet boy that I watched all last week. She stated that his new daycare provider informed her that he has a fever. So she decided that she wants him to stay home and asked if I could come over and look after him. In my jobless state, I said “of course!” She stated that him coming down with a cold might explain his temperament during our outing.
His birthday was a couple of days ago. She decided to take him to a restaurant to celebrate. The ambiance was nice, he was quiet - a ticking time-bomb. She mentioned that he was asleep in the car and had a time walking from the parking lot to the restaurant. After he woke up a little more he was into everything he couldn’t have, fussy. The food arrived, he had some bites and was in a better mood. It seemed to be smooth sailing from there. A storm was brewing. His bed time was quickly approaching. Nothing was keeping the smoothness as we had our meal. Mommy was getting frustrated, but kept her cool.
While we had a piece of squash pie, the storm began to reveal itself. Right before the checks came, the tears and screaming let out. I put money down for my meal. I picked him up and tried to walk around with him. There was a VERY brief moment of calm when we approached the door (we were seated outside). I thought the cool air would keep him clam. I thought wrong. He screamed louder. I brought him back to Mommy. She decided to get him ready for bed in the family bathroom. I provided moral support and extra hands. We got him wiped and changed. He was quite, sleepy, and smiling.
What a trip. Each time that I babysit a small, mobile, and non-communicating child, my desire for children drop drastically. I have two god-children who are now five and six years old. They were great as infants. I didn’t really have them by myself until they were about two or three. They were able to tell me what they want and get where they wanted, to an extent.
A lot of people think that I would make a great mother, but I honestly don’t think I’m cut out for it.