We have had some great babysitters. Typically I've had one "favorite" babysitter at a time, whom I always called first and who babysat the most often for us. That approach has just made it easier for all of us. We've only had to have three of those total in the last 8 years, because lucky for us, we started hiring them when they were young teenagers and they kept agreeing to babysit for us until they went off to college, and even when they came back during breaks. (Pictured above is one such phenomenal girl, an adult now, whom I would trust with anything and anyone, and the same was true when she was 14.)
Side note, can I get an amen that the advent of texting was the most awesome babysitting relief ever. I never liked trying to track girls down by home phone or feeling like they might only say yes because they felt cornered. The laid-back easy avenue of texting is my fave.
Occasionally the "favorite" can't make it of course, and I have a big pool of other girls I can call. (By the way the other girls we hire are great too, it just happens that my babysitter system has historically required a #1.) I love this. Now that I'm in Young Women I may get to expand my favorites list since I know so many more girls personally now.
I also have a great once a week (adult) babysitter and friend, Nikki, who watched Ida and Lars (now just Lars) on my work days. And another friend, Deanne, who watched them when Nikki was out of commission for several months after breaking her ankle a few years ago. When Theo was a baby my former neighbor Rana and I swapped babysitting twice weekly so that we each could make our work schedules happen. And who can forget my first regular daytime paid babysitter, Gayatri, when I first went back to work twice a week, who loved my kids and taught me so much. We were so sad when she moved away.
This was on my mind because I was really worried about getting sitters at some awkward evening and weekend times when Matt was going to be gone but I had to work, but my favorite teenage sitter came through, despite her busy schedule. Her mom also happens to be a former visiting teacher of mine, who was also one of those who rescued me in various ways in the past when I needed it. It's a big load off. I haven't done anything to deserve such wonderful and trusted help. I don't know what I'd do without wonderful babysitters. I guess I would just never go anywhere alone!
2 comments:
I still remember our first babysitter - although I can't remember her name. She was the oldest in a large family and was just great - of course, she just had to take care of Bonny! We've usually had "favorite" babysitters rather than a string of them. The Call family in Centerville kept us in babysitters for all our years there - Cindy would even bring her little brother along to play with Bonny and Harry!!
I had pretty good babysitters growing up. I remember my parents asking one of the teenage guys in the ward to babysit and I was horrified that they did that. Would he know what to do?? But the best is when I became a babysitter...such great memories and relationships that I have to this day
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