Adventures in Babysitting

Babysitting comes natural for me since my first "baby watching" job was when I was 9 years old and since I am the oldest growing up I have always had siblings around to look after, babysitting is one of those jobs that I think is really awesome and fun, I still like doing it. I just call it "Hanging Out" especially if the kid isn't actually a baby, because I remember being 7 years old when my babysitter said she was "babysitting" me, I got really upset for I knew that I was NOT a baby anymore. Soooo I will always think of that when saying things like "I'm watching over them" It's by far more kind to their self-respect, their self-identity, as kids do take these moments to heart. I remember what it was like being a kid so very well....
My adventures in babysitting has given me a wonderful world into the eyes of children, I really hope that I can give all kids a magical spark for their journey in life!

My Aunt had just bought a beautiful home so I was able to babysit for her at the drop of the hat if needed. I was newly married loving the freedom to walk around downtown Boise or cook in my cozy condo. Her two little boys were so clever, with dark hair and eyes they were around the same ages as my little brothers, which my brothers had blonde hair and blue eyes so when we all came together I would embrace them at once happily going to places like the Circus, the Fair or the Zoo. I really enjoyed babysitting my 2 cousins whenever I could, it was a fun night when my Aunt showed me her new place. The wrap around porch and black counter tops against the rich wooden cupboards and nicely organized pantry. My favorite place was the fireplace in the wide open living room, on this particular evening as I got through the whole tour upstairs there were only a few sleeping bags on the soft nice carpet in the master bedroom I asked "You don't have any beds?" My Aunt replied back "It's all ordered, just waiting for them to deliver the furniture." I stood there with a sudden spark for adventure as soon as she was gone, my cousins and I sat in front of the fireplace glow while I explained how lucky we were to have this whole huge house empty and dark to ourselves. "It's time to play Hide n' Seek, the only safe place is this glowing patch on the carpet from the fire okay?" They nodded and agreed excitedly, so as I counted down against the fireplace, they shot out to find hiding places! That dark night in a completely empty home we ran, we slid and we squealed! I never had to worry if those boys would crash into ANYTHING, we climbed the stairs, we laughed so hard and we played hide n seek for hours that night until we laid sweaty wiped out on the floor of the dinning room. We decided to have sock sliding contest on the wood floor in the kitchen, we tried to get the youngest boy to slide down the laundry shoot and we rode pillows down the stairs but then just as soon as we were refreshed we were back to hide n' seek in the dark again because without a doubt it was the BEST conditions for a carefree chase through the open darkness towards the glow of the fire and the loud laughter as we ran for it!