I hate it when I wait so long to write something. Although I can think of many things to write about, nothing seems all that interesting.

Except this one thing.

My new babysitter.

Whoop! Whoop!

Oh yea! I said “babysitter”!

You guys have no idea. Well, maybe you do. Yea, you probably do.

So a few weeks ago I was totally starting to stress out because my paperwork was piling up so fast I couldn’t even keep track of what needed done. Arden was having a shit fit every morning I dropped him off at daycare all because he didn’t want to take a nap – seriously, the kid was a nervous wreck – so I knew I had no choice but to switch gears. Hard ball didn’t work. Begging didn’t work. Bargaining didn’t work. Nothing worked. Arden was as happy as a hippo on the drive over but as soon as we pulled into the daycare parking lot, the tears started flowing and he was even pinching his bottom lip in fear. It was so sad.

So I had to switch to mornings only. But I am here to tell you that I have a changed boy. The kid is totally psyched again to go to school now that he believes me when I say that I will pick him BEFORE nap time. It took a few days before he completely understood that this was the new plan and he could trust that I was going to do what I said I would (like what, am I normally a complete liar or something??). But he’s down with it now.

Which is great for him. Bad for me. He gets his fun but I don’t really get time to do my stuff because by the time I take him to school and have to go back to get him, I’ve only had time to clean up breakfast dishes and maybe thirty minutes of other chores. Big whoop.

So back to the classifieds I went, hoping to find someone to help me but knowing I probably wouldn’t. Most people are looking for nannies or offering their home daycare services. I was just looking for someone to keep my kids safe so that I could get a few hours of work done. I wasn’t looking for someone to get my kids into Harvard or turn them into future politicians. I just wanted someone to keep them from ordering the Playboy channel and keep them from chasing each other with steak knives. Bare minimum here. I was desperate.

And then I found her.

After reading her lengthy add in the classifieds, I sent her an email expecting to hear absolutely nothing in return – but she surprised me. She emailed me back. Wh-what? Yes! And she used mostly proper grammar in her reply. I was perplexed. Was I sure this wasn’t a computer generated reply that would lead to a secondary email telling me I had won a lottery in Nigeria and had only to send a check somewhere in order to release the funds? Stumped. What to do – what to do?

We set up a meeting and wouldn’t you know it, she actually showed up – her AND her mother. She’s fifteen. I was so glad her mom showed up with her. I hadn’t asked how old she was, choosing instead to wait to meet her in case it didn’t matter. (Last year I found a girl on the classifieds and talked to her on the phone to arrange a meeting but when I asked if her mom could come too she was like, “Uhhh, I guess so.” Sort of like she was offended. Uhhh you’re sixteen, Little Girl. What kind of mother do you have that lets you go to strangers’ homes without sitting down and at least talking to them first. Freaking weirdos.)

I’m getting off track.

So I have a new babysitter. Her name is Sarah* and she’s awesome. The hard part is letting go and just letting her figure it out. I want to jump in there and show her, but it’s obvious she knows what to do. So my goal is to basically just show her what options there are with which to entertain the kids and let her take it from there so that I can truly step back and concentrate on getting stuff done. If I would just leave her alone I’m sure she’d do fine.

She shows up on time, if not early. I never see her on her phone, or texting (which may be that she’s super fast – but who cares? So long as she’s still keeping my kids safe, right?) And she seems to be real gentle with the kids. Addy is comfortable with her, and she can be a tough sell. She’s a real sweetheart – not some little mouthy kid. I can’t believe it’s working out so well. I just hope she hangs with us a while longer.

Neil’s leaving tomorrow for another trip.

I’m not worried, though, because I’ve got a Sarah.

*Not her real name