My week as the old lady in the shoe.

I have been babysitting for a long time. Ever since I was 9 years old, I have loved to babysit, especially babies.

Well this week has been a doozie!

I regularly babysit my friend's daughter 3 days out of the week. This actually works really well. She is the same age as my son, so they play well together, the hug each other and they even take naps at the same time. ( which means I get a break so I can spend time with my daughter who is preschool age).

I also have been watching another one of my friend's daughter 2-3 hours a day. She is about 6 months younger than my son. This week has been different though. I have been watching her every day all day due to a family emergency of sorts. This little girl is super cute, but....she is an only child and is not used to having other kids around. She has a tendency to....ummmm... wail...whenever another child is even near her or when she wants something. I think in time she will get used to this, until then I will have to invest in earplugs.

On top of all this, I said I would babysit 2 of another friend's kids while she was out of town and her husband is at work. They are good kids and play well with mine, so that helps.

So in total I had 7 kids this week. Not too bad you say? Well how about you throw in an earache in 2 of the 7 kids, pneumonia in one, viruses in 5, and diarrhea in 2. Not only that but I had a sick husband home all week hoping to recover from his cold( not gonna happen!). He ended up helping me with the crowd.

All I want to know is....how did the old lady in the shoe live to be so old?

????????????

I don't know what to do.

Should I do anything?

It is not my life.

It is not my child.

Should I let it affect me?

I do not want to sound condescending.

I do not want to sound overbearing.

I want to be a friend.

My heart literally hurts.

I feel sick to my stomach.

What do I do?????

In my patriarchal blessing, I am told that I will be a leader and that I should not hold back my convictions and emotions. I need to stand up for what is right. And all my life I have fought this council. Sometimes because others have told me to hold my tongue, and sometimes because I did not want to say anything. Why? Out of fear...fear that I will loose a friend or make someone angry. Or just because I thought it was none of my business.

I have a friend who is going through a hard time with her teenage children. I have seen and heard things....more specifically language that they are using. Language that they have been taught not to use. I know that there is more going on behind the scenes and it really is not my business ( is it?).

I remember being a teenager. I remember wanting to feel accepted and to have fun, and having to make a choice. But those choices were not hard for me to make.

I am torn! My gut says " say something", my heart says" say something", but my mind says" bite your tongue".

AAAAGGGGGHHHHH!

Music Moves Me..........

I love to hear a song that makes me close my eyes and imagine a time, or a place, or even people I love. Voices like Josh Groban, or Maxwell, or Allyson Crouse ( sp?). Soft, vibrant, clear voices that take me to another place.

My husband has one of those voices. There a few people who have had the privilege of hearing him sing ( and yes I am bragging!). I wish he would sing more!

I always hoped that our children would inherit his vocal talents ( and my good looks). Well I think we got one out of two.

Sydney was in the living room the other day. No t.v. or radio on. Just singing to herself. She was trying to sing a song that she was semi-familiar with. It started out ok. and she has a nice voice ( when she is not singing through her nose). I was enjoying listening......until her singing moved me to tears! I was laughing so hard ( in my room and into my pillow so she could not hear me), that I had tears streaming down my face. It was like Hannah Montana/ Gospel choir all at once. I wish that I could have caught it on tape.

When I finally composed myself and went out to the living room, I asked her what she was doing. She said " I am singing a song that I forgot the words to, but that is o.k. I made up the rest and I can do that because I am such a good singer."

I nodded my head, gave her a big hug and a kiss on the cheek and then went right back to my pillow. It is a good thing she is cute, cuz I don't thinkshe will have a career in music. Who knows, maybe we could have the next American Idol on our hands=)