Chateau de la Tobler

Wednesday, June 03, 2009

Lame Baby-sitting Anxiety

So...I've never left the kids alone with a true babysitter-babysitter, a sweet young 12-year-old girl who loves kids and loves that she gets paid for it. I've always used adults--Bradley's parents, Mema, Telima, LaDale, Kim, Relia, a babysitting-swap with friends, etc. The closest I've ever come to leaving the kids with a teenager is during Ross Family Reunions, when the older cousins (the oldest of which is getting married Friday, so hardly a child) watch the younger cousins.

And in that case I have to fight a stab of trepidation over leaving them.

But circumstances have forced me to take the leap. Tomorrow night is the family dinner before my niece Lauren's wedding. Kids are not invited, but naturally Lauren's brothers (the older cousins above referenced) are going to be there. My kids are sick-ish (mostly okay, still hacking and sneezing, but not extra sad-sick), so asking a friend with small kids is out of the question. Telima is out of town. Relia is busy. And so...

I've asked a 12-year-old girl from our ward to watch the three oldest kids (I'll be taking the baby, because we'll be gone awhile). She is a sweet girl, and perfectly capable of watching my kids (or so I keep telling myself). And her mother is just up the street if anything goes wrong. I'll probably also give her Tyler's number, just in case. And bravely will I go into the unknown, leaving MAH BAHBEES with a girl who just past being a baby, herself.

Tell me everything will be okay.