Old News: More Baby Sitting

Once I was in high school, for some reason, I was considered to be quite reliable. One summer,

a family that lived across Jamieson Park asked me to stay with their five kids for about four

days while they went on vacation. The two older boys were fairly self-sufficient so I really only

had two girls and a boy to worry about.

The only things the older boys wanted was breakfast and a late night snack. For breakfast,

both boys wanted toast with grape jelly with crisp bacon on top of it. At first it seemed to

be gross, but I tried it and loved it. I still eat at least once or twice a year.

The family had a huge freezer in the basement and every night they went down to get their

own half gallon of vanilla ice cream. They each had their own bottle of chocolate syrup and

would pour the syrup right into the ice cream carton. This I was not brave enough to even

try.

Every day I stayed with the kids, my mom would walk my brother down to Jamieson Park and I would bring the three kids up to the park. The four of them would play while I got some advice from my mom on any particular problems I was having. Usually, I complained about changing

diapers and having to make dinner every night.

I think it was at this time I began to assemble my thoughts about marriage and procreation --

I didn't want to do either. But if I did happen to, by some huge mistake, have any kids, I

would cut the cord, put them in a bedroom closet and who ever came out 21 years later would

be allowed to stay. Fifteen years later, I was wondering how much time I had left on the old

biological alarm clock to put in for a few kids of my own.