by Codi Moltrup

Created on: June 06, 2008

I love babysitting, especially when the kids are at least four. At least with four-year-olds, they talk fairly clearly by that point and we can have a conversation. Okay, so the conversation will most likely be about a toy or some crazy show like Spongebob Squarepants, but at least it's a conversation. Babies don't seem to like me. Once they're in my arms, they cry. I don't know what it is. Maybe they sense my ineptitude as a potential mother. Or maybe they just don't agree with my recent meal of veal (baby cow, FYI). Doesn't matter as that I don't intend to have kids anyway. Part of the reason why I like babysitting is that I get most of the fun stuff with the kids and then give them back to the parents when they come back home.

But there are some rough spots. One particular day was quite nasty. It started out normal enough. I was to babysit my friend's daughter (for sake of privacy for the kid, let's call her Shelly) while her mother was at work. By that point, I knew the basic rundown. Lunch at a designated time, limited amount of snacks and just what kind of snacks she can have, go outside often and don't let her spend so much time in front of the TV, don't let all her guy friends come over to the house, etc. etc. No problem.

So the day went pretty normally. I let her watch some of the early morning toons right up until about lunch time. I headed to the kitchen to check out the selection and found it rather lacking. Some boxes of Easy Mac with no packets in it. Huh...chuck that. Cereal boxes with only a small bit of cereal in the bottom of each box. Some room temperture ketchup and mustard. Little else. Ok, check the fridge. Not too much better options there either. A little milk and juice. Some alcohol. Less than half a stick of butter. Maybe the freezer then? Again not much. Eight chicken nuggets, a box of Texas Toast, couple flavors of ice cream and little else. Apparently grocery day hasn't come yet and unless a cheeseburger at McDonald's has dropped to 23 cents, I can't afford to buy us food.

Selecting the Texas Toast box and chicken nuggets, I set them out on two plates. Four nuggets and a piece of toast each (there were only two pieces in the box.) Shelly, ever curious, has come in to watch me, clearly amused. Apparently she hadn't known adults were that creative in their meals. Yeah. So I pick up a plate and put it in the microwave. Normally I know how to work these things. You just press a couple buttons and within a few minutes, the food is done.

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