Babysitter Mindset

Over the last few months I have come to the realization that babysitting is a lot like waitressing. Or maybe waitressing is a lot like babysitting. Either way, they have many things in common: there is always a million things to do and not enough hands to do it with; at the end of a shift all surfaces have to be sanitized and all floors need to be swept, mopped and vacuumed; and, no matter what I do, I always end up with food on my shirt.

During the years that I spent waiting on tables I had a recurring dream (sometimes I still have it) about work  The details would differ from night to night, but the basic idea was always the same. The restaurant was packed full of people who all needed something from me (drinks, salads, food, checks, etc.) and I didn't know where to start. Every time I got a table finished and out the door, another group would magically replace it and I would have to start all over again. In my dreams (as in real life during many shifts) I told myself over and over that I just had to keep pushing through it and eventually the night would end and everyone would go home.

My recurring dream now goes more along these lines: a house full of babies that need diapers changed and bottles fed, toddlers that need toys fixed and help going potty, and every room ankle deep in mess. As in the waitressing dreams, I find myself thinking that I just have to push through and eventually the day will end and everyone will go home - just like at the restaurant!

The two professions are also similar in that you have to keep a running list in your head all day long of things that need to be done. The tricky part is trying to decide what order to do things in when everything needs to be done now and you can only do one thing at a time. With waiting tables the list went like this: "take drinks to table 4, clear table 7, print checks for tables 9 and 5, check in with table 6 to see how the food is, etc." My babysitting list includes: "changes baby 1's diaper, fix toddler 1's toy, feed baby 2 a bottle, take toddler 2 to the potty, put baby 1 down for a nap, make lunch for both toddlers, etc." (P.S. Toddlers that need to go potty always get bumped to the #1 priority spot on the list!) I have no idea how I would manage all of this if Rylee wasn't such a fantastic helper! She can help me do almost everything that has to be done during the day, and she gladly does it. The babies love her and she knows just how to calm them down or keep them busy while I finish another chore. She also has a blast playing with the older girl I babysit. (They start each day running up and down the hall laughing hysterically because "we just need to laugh", as they tell me.)

The whole point of this post is to tell all of you out there who do daycare how much I admire you! During school the professors told our classes over and over how it takes a certain mindset and a specific way of thinking to do computer programming. They said a certain amount of this behavior can be learned, but part of it is a natural personality trait that some people just don't have. I believe this is exactly the same for running a daycare business. Some people have that natural talent to juggle multiple kids for 10, 11, 12 hours a day and still wake up smiling each day. So hats off to you out there! My experience waiting tables has given me much more sympathy to servers when I go to a restaurant, and my recent experiences with babysitting have likewise given me much more sympathy and respect to those people who take care of our children when we can't be there to do it ourselves.

On a completely different topic, Jayden is starting to crawl!! He only makes it one or two "steps" forward before throwing himself down on his stomach, but any day now he is going to be moving all over the place. (I am reserving his "first time crawling" post until he actually makes it continuously from one point to another.)