Monday, January 8
I have a long history of falling in love with the sitters who care for my children. I invite them in and make them part of our family. Our Mandy was Griff's first babysitter. He scared off her crappy boyfriend and instantly adored the man who is now her husband. When she called this afternoon, Griff asked to speak to Mandy. There is love there.
Stephanie was our favorite evening sitter because she loved the kids so well. I was never worried to leave town for dinner with her in charge. And I never worried that the kids wouldn't get enough attention from her. She and I left town about the same time last summer, and I'm still missing her.
When Griff began kindergarten, Dena picked him up from school every afternoon and brought him home. When Eliza arrived early, Dena adjusted her schedule to help us by staying with Griff while Mike and I went to the hospital to see Eliza. And for the next three years, Dena was our on-again, off-again, but always-loved afternoon sitter.
In the first semester that Dena couldn't arrange her classes to keep Griff, Patrick stepped into the sitter role. While Patrick couldn't be convinced to help Griff with his homework, he did teach him to climb a tree.
And when Patrick graduated and left, Landon was our new afternoon sitter. Landon, as it turns out, is Griffin, just a dozen or so years in the future. The two of them are like mirrors of one another, and Griff loved hanging out with Landon. We were blessed to have Godly young men to watch over our son.
In our last semester in Louisiana, the circle was completed as Dena resumed her sitter duties. I miss chatting with her in the afternoons and hearing about her daily life. We still exchange emails, and I'm delighted with the woman she has become.
These people have been important to me because of who they are, as well as because they were important to my children. At lunch today, I heard a snippet of an interview with Lisa Belkins on the Satellite Sisters XM show. She was talking about her article in yesterday's New York Times Magazine about how she never really knew her nanny.
It's an intriquing article, one that makes me miss those sitters I loved while also giving me a knot in my stomach as I consider the new sitters who are staying with Griff in the afternoons this semester.
Trust is such a fragile thing.
[ posted by Chel on Monday, January 08, 2007 ]
[ 5 comments ]
5 Comments:
Did this Landon sing gospel music?
By 
, at
7:46 PM
I could not imagine my life with Griff, Eliza and you all in it. Funny how it all started with me simply being a babysitter.
Thanks to all who have added Olivia and I to the prayer list.
Love Mandy
By , at
3:21 PM
The challenge of finding someone you can trust with the best of you (even though they sometimes act like the worst of you) is hard. It is truly a gift.
By , at
1:38 PM
Chel, this is such a great post, thanks. I have been a sitter myself for years.
I started looking after the two kids of a friend when I was seventeen. Now she has four kids and I am 27. We are best friends now and I so much appreciate her trust with the kids.
When she had to go to hospital in November, I took her kids for two weeks. The oldest one is fourteen now and a 'real' teenager, pretending to be oh so cool all day long. But when I left after that time, I got a real long hug. So I guess I did something right *smile*.
When I will be a Mom somewhen I will not be so afraid about education and all that, because my friend trusted me with her kids and I learned so much with that.
So I am thankful for all that Mom's like her and you, who are willing to share their kids, families and everyday's lifes.
By , at
9:41 AM
We're already getting to know the new sitters in our lives and are working on including them in our lives. May they all come to trust us and to love us the way I know we'll come to love them.
