Compliments?

I have a sweet high-school student who comes in and helps us out during the insane time of 5-7 p.m.  For those of you who don't have children, or have forgotten, this is the time of day when a mother would rather rip out her own toenails than be alone with her demanding children.  A time when EVERYONE is at their wits' end and nothing can get done fast enough. 

We hired this babysitter back in August during the period between when my sister left and our Brown student returned for the fall.  She came to the interview with her mother and I hired the girl the next day.  She started that evening and has worked with us ever since. 

So, a couple of weeks ago, we had this conversation:

Babysitter:  My mom wants to come visit and see the babies again.  Is that okay?
Me:  Sure.  Can she take one home with her?  Ha..Ha...
Babysitter:  I'm sure she would.  When we met you, we were surprised at how nice you are.
Me:  What do you mean?
Babysitter:  Well, when we saw your house we just thought you were probably snobs.
Me:  Well, I had to clean the place up otherwise you never would have come to work for us.

This conversation surprised me.  By no stretch of the imagination is our house high-end.  While it is true that over the last six years I've turned this house from the grandmother-special my husband inherited to something more to my liking, the bulk of the money we've poured into it has been for structural/environmental changes.  (New windows, a rebuilt chimney, and a new boiler to name a few.)  It certainly didn't cost us much to rip off all the wallpaper and slap some paint on the walls but I guess it did make a difference. 

Whatever the reason, our babysitter's comment really meant a lot to me.  There's still a lot to be done in this house (isn't there always?) but I finally feel like this place is my home and I am happy here.  Her statement wasn't a direct compliment but I will take it, nonetheless.

Oh yeah, and I am a nice person too.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Halfway There Giveaway

Image
At the beginning of the year, I made a commitment to myself and to Dollimama  (my fellow blogger and mother of twins) to take a few minutes each week for myself.  I promised that I would blog about what I did every Friday and link up to her site.   As it turns out, I was great at taking the time for myself but not so good at blogging about it.  (I know you are heartbroken to have missed my weekly missives about the YMCA.) Do not despair, fair reader, I am here to redeem myself.  I am participating in the: Cue the wild cheering and applause! I am giving away a little "me time" care package. While I won't give the specifics (who doesn't love a surprise?), the package will include something you can do for yourself, something you can do with a friend, and something that will help you do something for someone else.   To enter, please leave a comment telling me the most interesting place you have ever traveled. For a bonus entry, become a follower of this blog and leav
Read more

Peace and Quiet

My girls spend a lot of time together.  Jude and Elie are inseparable for all the reasons associated with young twins and, apart from when she is in school, Vivi is home with them.  Vivi will often try to engage her sisters in her games which generally consist of bossing J&E around in the name of playing "school" or "dance class" or "summer camp." The problem is that Jude and Elie drive Vivi crazy.  They don't listen.  They don't follow her directions and even worse, they are full of their own ideas.  Oh, and sometimes they just. won't. stop. touching. her. stuff.  The few harmonious moments of sibling love quickly spiral into a three-way battle for control. I've tried to talk with Vivi about some of the ways that she can deal with her sisters.  Her first step is what we have called the counter-offensive.  She put this sign on her door: JUDE OR ELIYA CAN'T COME IN!!!!! This is Aviva's room.  Onle [only] mom and dad c
Read more

What Is a Good Mother?

For the most part, I think I am a good mother.  I feed, clothe, and clean my children.  I tell them I love them.  I give them independence and encouragement.  I read to them and play games with them and drive them places.  I try to utilize positive reinforcement. Except when I don't.  There are times when I lose it.  When I throw a (plastic) plate across the kitchen because it is 8:00 at night and I told you it was bed time and not snack time.  When the whining is so insufferable that all I can do is shout "STOP IT NOW!!!!!!" at the top of my lungs so that I stun you into silence.  When I have to ask you for the tenth time to put the god-damned markers away because I am fed-up with scrubbing ink off the walls and floors.  When I tell you, "You know what?  I don't actually like that drawing." because I'm feeling spiteful that that you called dinner "disgusting." I've done all those things.  Some of them I've done more than once.  With
Read more