Babysitting

I have mentioned my problem with saying yes to things I shouldn't (Yes, I'll buy that insanely priced sparkly candle! Yes, I'll buy credit card life insurance even though my monthly bills average $25!). So it should come as no surprise when I tell you, Ooops I Did It Again.

My job puts me in contact with lots of children and occasionally their parents. In April I was approached by the mother of a 6 year old boy and an 8 year old girl who wanted me to babysit in the mornings from 6:30 to 8:30 and take her children to school.

I hate the morning. I do not deal well with the morning. My numerous former roommates/family members can attest to the fact that I often say very strange things, gesticulate wildly, make high pitched noises, and rarely remember any of it later in the day. All through college I made sure never to have a class before 10 because I knew that anything before then was useless, as I wouldn't remember any of it. In France as a teacher most of my days started around 11, and I doubt it is a coincidence that the only class I had all year that I did not care for was the only one I had at 8 in the morning (To those students, I apologize. It was not your fault. Mostly.). As a teacher here, I suffered. I used to drive my sister to school in the mornings, and she still claims to people that it is a miracle she is still alive. She's probably right. I don't remember those drives.

It was a miracle when I found the job I have now that starts at 10:30 in the morning. It is perfect. I get out later in the evenings, but I don't care, because I can function like a human being during the day and don't have to deal with the horrors, pain, and illness the early mornings bring me.

So why, when this mother asked me to babysit for her at 6:30 IN THE MORNING, did I agree to it?

Money, you probably said. And while there are a lot of things I would do for money (probably a shocking number of things) this woman offered me next to nothing. It was a monthly rate, and when I did the math, it evened out to $3.75 an hour. Which is ridiculous.

In the end, I made another offer, and when I did THAT math, it evened out to $5.75 an hour. Now, when the average babysitter averages $10-12/hour during normal hours, why, in God's name, would I ever, under any circumstances, agree to do this for 2.5 hellish months of my life?

Dude. I have no idea. None. I could always use money, I make minimum wage at a part time job and I have many bills to pay. But this really did not do much for me financially, and was, on top things, causing me to be barely able to get through my days and to be completely unable to get through what should have been fun weekends.

PLUS, 6:30-8:30 in the morning is the WORST TIME to answer Justin Bieber trivia questions, watch Justin Bieber interviews, and have Justin Bieber sing-a-longs.

God I hate that boy.

I can't lie though. I adored those wretched Justin Bieber/Sponge Bob loving creatures. I liked watching Victorious and iCarly with my eyes half open, and I even liked making them eggs for breakfast.

And I only set off their fire alarm once.

And when their mother asked me to come back next year, I came THIS CLOSE to saying yes.