Babysitters Are Brilliant

I used to be really active in a local MOMS Club chapter, and when I first got sick, they were great about pitching in and bringing meals for my family. That was a huge help as Scott adjusted to essentially having to do everything around the house. (He'd always done the lion's share, but now he does everything it seems like.)

There's a person who volunteers to run the chapter's "support services," which usually focuses on organizing meals for moms with newborns but also helps those with serious illnesses. The person doing the job in our chapter offered lots of kinds of help. I was too embarrassed to take her up on the offer of having other moms come clean our house, but I asked her to help me find a babysitter.

She contacted various organizations -- schools, churches, etc. -- and came back to me with a couple names. I was looking for someone who was willing to make a commitment to come every weekend for 3 hours or so and who could provide their own transportation. The babysitters other people referred me to weren't willing to make that commitment, but Mairi-Kate found a senior at Tigard High School who was.

So every Sunday, from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m., Angie comes by to play with Ellie, something Ellie looks forward to all week long.

Although I'm sometimes tempted to go take a nap, I stick around and offer suggestions for activities and find things they need. But Ellie loves having someone to "play chase" with and Angie is very artistic so Ellie loves to do art projects with her.

The best thing is it gives Scott a break. He gets to go off into his garage and do woodworking. (If you want to see some of his older projects, they're at http://members.ipns.com/szott/woodworking.htm. The site hasn't been updated lately, but it's still a good view of his hobbying.)

If it were me, I'd probably be relaxing instead of tackling a wood project, but it really seems to re-energize him and put him in a much better mood.

Since I don't feel up to quilting these days, using my hobby funds to pay Angie $20 a week and give Scott a badly needed break seems like a bargain.