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The Horrors of Babysitting....

Just so you know this all happened today!! You may find this funny, but clearly I do not.

This started out as a normal 9-5 shift. Mother getting ready to go to work and father as well when I showed up. The mother leaves and later the father. 5 minutes after he leaves (I checked the clock) a National Grid (a power company) van pulls in. I'm holding the really large dog back from this short old woman who was coming up to the door to ask whether the owner was in. I said no and that I was there, babysitting alone with two small kids. She tells me that the power has to be shut off and I thinking 'why does this happen to me?' as I'm ticking off a list in my head all the things I can't use for the kids: lights, oven/stove top, baby monitor, air conditioning, refrigerator, and TV. This list entails all the things I use on a daily basis while there to keep the kids happy. She tells me that the owners could call such and such a number and pay the bill by phone and they could always come back to turn it back on tomorrow. I asked her "well, can't you wait until later to shut it off I'm here with these two kids today?" She apologizes and says that it has to be shut off now. She hands me a slip with the phone number on it and leaves. At the end of the driveway she stops and shuts off the power.

I've got a two year old and a one year old with no power in the house. I cannot cook their lunch (not that my cooking is all that good in the first place), so I resort to Bologna on bread. I don't even search through the fridge for anything else to put on the sandwiches, because I didn't want the food to spoil before the parents get back.

Then I discover much to my annoyance that the family I was babysitting did not have a land line (an old phone not powered by electricity, but by the phone line). They only have wireless chargeable phones and so I cannot call the parents to tell them our predicament and I cannot call for emergencies. Had there been an emergency I'd have to lug both children to the nearest house, which is an estimated two football fields away, not counting the time that would be used to frequently stop for the two year old who loves to pick flowers!
Meanwhile I realize from a battery powered clock that it is only noon! I've got five hours of dealing with this! But I guessed it wouldn't be so bad, although it was raining, I mean they've got the play area and they've eaten.

It was not really dark in the house where we were, but due to the loss of baby monitor I obviously couldn't leave the one year old upstairs alone to nap, so I decided that he could sleep downstairs while we wait it out (oh, how I was wrong!).

There was no chance the two year old was going outside. It was pouring rain!! I did not realize how hooked this kid was on TV, when he was not outside. Without it, apparently he's got no chance at survival.

I set them in the play area, hoping they would have some fun. I'm keeping them occupied for about a half an hour, when the two year old decides he's had enough of the play area. I'm keeping him in the play area and finally it dawns on me that he wants the TV. I kindly explain to him that the TV wants working for this afternoon. He gets all teary eyed and whimpers "Da TV broke?"

And I said yes.

He goes ballistic! He screams, cries, and has a complete meltdown!!!I swear to you that it was the worst tantrum I have ever seen in my life! I look at the clock on the wall......4 hours left.

Finally he calms down somewhat and plays with his little brother. The again he tries to make a break for it. He has another fit, this time with high pitched screams that make me think of shattering glass and.................he pukes. Bologna is sooo gross the second time around. I was gagging as I pulled the one year old away from the puke (he wanted to touch it).

There is also no water....yay! I turn on the water and get barely enough to wet a towel to clean him up and I scrub the rug with Lysol.

I calmly explain to him that "daddy" will "fix" the TV when he gets home. The kid is still not pleased, yet thankfully goes back to playing.




The sound of tires on the gravel pulled me out of despair. The kid had about six tantrums before I lost count when he started to scream nonstop. The father was home. He hears the news and cusses up a storm, apparently the wife had forgotten to pay the bill.

We pack up the kids to go to grandma's.

The freezer is unpacked and so is the fridge. They had gone grocery shopping the day before.

I better be paid double for dealing with this crap.... stressed