Old News: Baby Sitting

My aunts were in the business of making babies and I was in the business of baby sitting. One aunt had four boys and the other had two girls and a boy. I was pressed into service when I was about 12 years-old and was paid a lavish amount of money for that time. Most babysitters were raking in only 25 cents an hour. I, on the other hand, had a very lucrative arrangement with my aunts. I would go to their house, watch the kids that night, stay over and play with them the next morning. By noon, I was back home and five dollars richer.

Of course, as the kids grew older, I had to work a little harder for my money. Sometimes I

worked on Saturday nights and of course we went to church Sunday morning. Going to church

with my Aunt Rita, Uncle Don, and the four boys was an exceptional experience. The twins

and baby had to be dressed. I constantly mistook one twin for another, dressing one twice and

ignoring the other. Their older brother finally had to send one in at a time. Four heads

of hair had to be combed, eight little hands had to be washed, and four pairs of socks and

shoes had to be put on. Aunt Rita and I worked side by side but she had the added job of

feeding all four of them so they wouldn't fuss in church. I often wondered how she managed

by herself.

Once all were dressed and ready, Uncle Don would begin to corral us into the car. Inevitably,

as we headed for the car port, one of the twins would cry, "I don't have my Jesus Book. I

need my Jesus Book." And the other would join in and realize he didn't have his Jesus Book

either. Soon all four were decrying the fact that no one had their Jesus Book. It was at this

point that Uncle Don resolved the problem. "Rita get those boys their !#@$%^& Jesus

Books." The rest of the morning was all down hill.