Valentine's Day
I hope everyone had a good V. Day, mine was pretty nice. First of all, I was surprised to find that they celebrate Valentine's Day over here, too. They don't sell as many cards as in the states, but they make a good effort. How did Valentine's Day start, anyway?
Being the single that I am, I figured I'd help out one of the married guys on the team by watching their kids for him while he and his wife go out. (Plus, I was pretty much guaranteed a free dinner in the bargain.)
So I ask Mr. B if he wanted me to take care of his 4 kids last Wednesday. (I like a challenge.) He told me that he hadn't even thought of V. Day and probably wouldn't do anything. So, I called up Mr. K and asked if he wanted to head out while I watched their 2 kids. He said that'd be great, so I made plans to head over there Wednesday after school.
Then Mrs. B calls me and tells me they would love to go out for V. Day, and thanked me for volunteering to watch their kids.
That makes 6 kids, 4 under the age of 6.
I'm as responsible as the next guy, but 6 kids is a lot, especially young ones. I really had no choice, so I agreed to watch them too. I thought of calling in a friend to help, but the only friends I have are non-believing, non-English speaking single guys, not exactly the kind of help you need in a delicate situation like this.
With no other viable options, I would have to go in alone.
I got to the K's house (the drop zone) around 5:30 that night and sat in the bathroom for like 20 minutes just enjoying the silence, knowing it would be the last bit of that I would get that night.
A few minutes later, the families showed up, the parents left, and it was just me and the kiddos.
First problem: The youngest B kid is still in diapers and is still working on that whole "potty training" thing. I've never changed a diaper in my life, and I don't plan on starting any time soon. The solution? I put the 8 year old on diaper duty. If anything goes down, she's in charge of cleaning it up. Fortunately, it was a quiet night on that front...
After taking care of the diaper situation, it was down to business. My plan was pretty simple: Wear the kids out early, and pop in the kid movies for the rest of the night. After an hour or so of wrestling, dog-piling, sword fighting, and hide and seek (in the dark mind you), the kids were wearing down. That was a good thing too, because even with my wrestling and sword-fighting prowess 6 on 1 is pretty bad odds.
I locked up the weapons in the K's bedroom, assembled the kids in the living room, and rode out the rest of the night with Veggie Tales, Jungle Book 2, and old Popeye cartoons.
The parents returned (almost 11 at night!) to find their kids sitting calmly watching some Popeye or playing with some blocks.
That, my friends, is a job well done.
Class and grace under pressure! Who knew you had it in you?! A+!
Posted by
Doug Jett |
12:44 PM
impressive...as a seasoned babysitter and daycare worker myself, i have to give u mad props for a job well done! very, very impressive!
Posted by
Anonymous |
10:01 AM
Nice work! But you have to get over the diaper hump at some point. If you want to swing back by CookeVegas, I have plenty of practice for you! :)
Posted by
Polarbear |
7:58 AM
I researched the history of Valentine's Day for a project in my language class if you'd like me to fill you in sometime.
Posted by
Mandi |
7:47 AM