Monday, September 17, 2012

Next Thing You Know




Not too long ago a very sweet girl down the block became the first and only non-family babysitter my children ever experienced. She wasn't often called upon what with both grandmas living less than ten minutes away, but it was so good to know she was there.

One of the first things that impressed me with the set up was that even though we knew each other her mother wanted to come in and sort of tour the house before she came on her own. That is exactly the kind of thing I would do for my daughter - a reconnaissance mission of love.

It's good to know the environment you ship your kids off to when they start working.

We didn't have a lot of money at the time so it should have been even harder to part with for something we normally got for free, but that was never the case. It wasn't easy to leave our kids for the first time with someone other than family, but then again, it wasn't that hard either.

Every once in awhile you come across a gem of God's kindness. Amanda was one of those rare people who cared for and nurtured the children as if they were family (without ever growing impatient with them as we do with family). It feels like only a handful of years ago that she was looking after my kids, but more than a decade has passed and now she's using her gifts to teach special needs students.

Her parents generously included the neighborhood kids she used to babysit in both the wedding and reception. My daughter Maggie posted a message on Instagram that night with a self-photo taken on the dance floor, "Cannot even explain how great this night has been."

Now it's my kids who are babysitting the younger boys across the street after school. It's just one more indication of how very quickly this time goes by and how much we have to be grateful for in getting this far.

Next thing you know I'll be dancing at their weddings.

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