Remember you are 73, my sister told me when I announced that I was going to babysit son Ben's 8 children for 10 days. His Jessica flew to Taiwan to check out the possibility of taking the whole family there for the summer. Jessica is a very high energy girl. I"m not. So I determined that it would be necessary for Layne to accompany me on this babysitting adventure. Perhaps the two of us older kids could cover for one very energetic daughter-in-law. We headed to California on Tuesday the 16th, arriving that evening. It was a pleasant flight and offered a dazzling view of the San Francisco Bay Area as we flew in for a landing. The whole area glowed in amber light, looking something like a treasure chest filled with gold jewels.
Everyone was awake when we arrived and greeted us with great enthusiasm. Jessica left the next day and, suddenly, we were in charge of 8 children, ranging in age from 13 down to almost 1. Three of the children were pre-school; the rest were school bound every weekday morning. Afternoons were filled with lessons of all sorts for all the school kids. There was soccer, tennis, basketball, drums, piano, violin, art. With all of that going on I think it was smart of me to suggest to Layne that he be the delivery guy. He filled every afternoon with driving the various kids to their various lessons. They were hardly home! The pre-schoolers, on the other hand, were always home. With me. And they all wanted me, just about all of the time. So while Layne was on the road, I was home, hardly leaving the house. Sigh. It was a very demanding 10 days!
Here's one of my preschool playmates, Jonathan, in the back yard. He was jumping his energy back so we could continue our game of super heroes.
I planned meals and snacks, washed clothes and organized various places to make my job a little easier. Ben and Jessica had cleaners come in every week day, which helped. I found myself on my feet all day long. Bedtime every night found us falling into bed and sleeping soundly in spite of a less than ideal bed. In spite of all the demands and work, I loved being with the children. Spending time with them was so rewarding. The baby, still nursing, bonded with me from the start. In fact she wanted me to hold her just about every waking hour. I sang her to sleep for her naps and at night time. She loved it. She became my baby. In fact, when Jessica returned home, the baby, Olivia, wasn't at all sure she wanted to go to her. But once the opportunity to nurse presented itself, she was all about her mommy.
Here's Olivia playing in the family room and looking at me hoping for a lift onto my lap.
Victoria (Tia) is my spark plug girl, always running around full of giggles, and tears when things didn't quite go her way. "Grandma, I don't sleep when the sun is up," she told me. So, no naps for this girl.
Having 8 children is intense! But we made it through the 10 days and even had some time with Ben, in the evenings. Jessica enjoyed Taiwan for the most part and thinks it would be a great place to take all the family for some extended time. She is up for great adventures with their large family. I so admire it but think myself incapable of such grand adventures with so many children to look out for. I found the children loving and cooperative though, and under our watch they all seemed to do fine.
On our last day we snapped this picture of Jacqueline (13), me (do I look tired?), Alexis (12), and Abigail (7) in front.
We headed for home on Friday morning and felt so grateful that we got the last two seats on the early flight. By the time we got home we were exhausted! We napped the rest of the day away and the next one as well. This Sunday I'm feeling almost normal again. It is sweet to be back in our quiet home, with everything just where I want it to be. The simple life. I've become used to it.
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