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Child swap - SOLC Day 13

Picture this:

You’re snuggled up on a plush couch, listening to the gentle patter of the rain on the window, book spread open on your lap. Hell, you can even treat yourself to a San Pellegrino! Not a care in the world.

“Mommyyyyy!!!! Mommyyyyy!!!!! MOMMYYYYYYY!!!!!!”

The time bomb has gone off. Only...

It ain’t YOUR time bomb!

Let me backup a second. A few months ago, my mom friend/neighbor came up with a brilliant idea. She and her husband have two tots and never go out on dates. My husband and I have one tot and never go out on dates. We should do a babysitting swap! A convenient solution to save us some date night money, as we live exactly one flight of stairs away from each other.

Our deal was simple: Ask a couple days ahead of time for babysitting availability. Make sure tots are sound asleep before leaving for the date. Don’t stay out TOO late.

We’re now several months into the arrangement, and I have learned a HARSH truth.

I’m afraid I got the raw end of this deal.

My friend’s experience at our place has been the same every time. Poppy has gone to bed at her bedtime (7:00PM). Our neighbor comes up about 7:30. We leave. She chills on our couch and gets things done. Occasionally she’ll hear Poppy whimper or briefly cry over the monitor, but she always goes back to sleep after a maximum of five minutes. My friend has never had to enter Poppy’s room at all, actually.

My experience has been quite different. Let me recount the most recent episode, from Monday night:

7:24pm
Hey Alex! One is down, still trying
to get the other to sleep.

7:24pm
No problem!! I’m ready to come down 
whenever you guys are ready!

8:15pm
Ok! They have been quiet long enough
that I feel confident!

8:15pm
I’ll be right down!

My friend and her husband were out of the building exactly 4 minutes when the first tot woke up. Which brings me back to this moment:

“MOMMYYYYYY!!!! WAHHHHHHH!!!!!!”

I bounced up from the couch and into the dark room with the speed and soft touch of a pacifist ninja. I did not want to wake up the OTHER tot.

My distressed little friend had gotten up from bed. I steered him back under the covers and rubbed his back until he fell back asleep.

Or so I thought.

After slipping back out of his room and back onto the couch, I got about halfway down the page of my book club novel before he started again.

“MOOOOOOMMMMMMMYYYYYYYY!!!!!”

I resigned myself to the fact that I would simply have to lie next to him and pretend to be “mommy.” As I scrolled through Twitter with a tot paw draped across my belly, I started to plan my next date night.

Comments

  1. Celia FisherMarch 13, 2020 at 8:29 AM

    Yes, you definitely got the raw end of the deal. Hope they eventually stayed asleep!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Diane AndersonMarch 13, 2020 at 8:58 AM

    Oh, no... you did get a bad deal this time, though I detect maybe you weren’t too upset. Lived your phrase “tot paw draped across my belly.” You have a way with words that can bring out a laugh.

    ReplyDelete
  3. AnonymousMarch 13, 2020 at 4:16 PM

    "Not my time bomb." Those are words I now long to say, blithely.

    ReplyDelete

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