Help Wanted!

For 7 years we were spoiled when it came to finding a babysitter. While living in Pennsylvania our church seemed to have a never ending supply of competent, mature, and enthusiastic teenage girls willing to babysit. To make it easier Hubby and I were youth group sponsors at the time, relationships with potential sitters and parents were already established and it made asking easier.

After 3 years of wonderful babysitters we moved to Hubby's hometown where we already knew some very willing babysitters, Grandparents! Then, to our amazing luck, two of our Pennsylvania babysitters went to college, IN THE SAME TOWN WE JUST MOVED TOO.

Let me put it this way; for 7 years our children had the same two babysitters since our oldest was a baby.

Our babysitters were wonderful, they knew our schedule so well we no longer gave the informational run down. They had the cell numbers programmed into their phones. I could start a pot of mac & cheese and let them finish it. They would serve it along with vegetables and fruit for dessert, and then wash the dishes, and all the instructions I would give would be "the mac & cheese should be ready in a couple of minutes."

However, our luck has run out, for the last of our two babysitters graduated from college last spring and we were left without babysitters, except for the very willing grandparents, but I don't want to use and abuse them.

I guess it was our fault for are present predicament. With grandparents in the area, and two poor college students willing to sit whenever their schedules allowed, we didn't have a need to find other sitters.

Now we do, and even with another never ending supply of competent, mature and enthusiastic high school girls at our church it isn't that easy. At our new church we know who babysits, we know their parents, but we don't have that established relationship which seems to make this whole process a little easier.

A couple weeks ago we were scrambling to find a sitter, and that is when it hit me. At that time I realized why some people find it hard to find sitters, without that established relationship finding one sitter can seem like pulling teeth.

So, here we are, pulling teeth. Asking all the basic questions, do you babysit? How much do you charge? Do you drive? Will this date work with your schedule, and your parent's? When is too early to ask you to come, when is too late? Can you sit on a school night? No seriously, how much do you want to be paid for three active children who may, or may not, tie you up?

I'm an introvert, it takes a lot of energy to form relationships. Some days it takes a lot of energy to pick up the phone.

However, the pay off is a date with my man, and I like dates with Hubby. A little teeth pulling to spend some alone time with Hubby is worth it, and I'm looking forward for our next night out.