The Virtues of the Babysitting-Playdate

Today I did the best kind of babysitting. The kind where you're helping out a friend who loves you for it, but really it's a no-brainer. It was more like hosting a playdate because the kids are close in age and get along famously. No matter how you slice it, a win-win.

A babysitting-playdate is a great time had by all. They're playing, laughing, having a grand ol' time. And the extra bonus is that your kids have some fresh meat for their latest imaginative games. Today's "meat", if you will, was Ella, a beautiful and sweet five-year-old who is adored by Lil' Miss. Immediately after Ella's dad dropped her off this morning, the girls began their transformations into royal princesses complete with shimmering gowns, tiaras, and high heels. I'm still amazed by the immediate magical effect these princess get-ups have on them. Their necks suddenly stiffen, their noses turn up, and their chests puff out. They are also noticeably quiet, practically speechless at the majesty of their own beauty. To be sure, this is the work of the infamous Fairy Snob Mother.

After my inspection of their beautifulness, the dramatic reinactment began. As usual, Lil' Miss played the part of Sip-n-Rooney, better known as Sleeping Beauty, while Ella took the traditional role of her namesake, Cinderella. I'm not exactly sure about the details of the plot, but I know they were looking for Cinderella's lost stepsisters who must have gone through some intensive family counseling because they were now "very nice". In a strange turn of events, Cinderella swiped the poison apple from Snow White (who was probably quite thankful later on) and lay sprawled out on the floor, teetering on the brink of a "deep sleep". She did, however, experience a brief moment of consciousness in which she lifted her head and whispered, "Go get the prince!" Lil' Miss sprang into action. She raced through the house yelling, "Prince! Prince! Where are you?" She finally found the handsome suitor in his room, knocking all the books off his shelf and squealing with delight as some of them crashed into the wall. Baby Dude was oblivious to the fact that he was about to take the role of leading man in the most dramatic love story of all times. Enter the Wicked Stepmother. Fearing what this scene might lead to, I plucked him up off the carpet and called for a Popcorn Intermission.

One entirely selfish motive for sponsoring a babysitting-playdate is that I love witnessing the hilarious interactions and conversations that take place between these little people. While playing various games throughout the morning, Ella would suddenly blurt out the word "boring" which sounded more like, "Borrrrrinnnggg!", something she no doubt picked up at preschool from a kid with an older sibling. Lil' Miss soon caught on to this and tried it out herself. But somehow the word got lost in translation. "Boring" became "moring" and late into the evening we could still hear Lil' Miss yell from all parts of the house, "Morrrrrinnnnng!"

The less obvious but equally significant reason for a babysitting-playdate is that it opens a vast portal to priceless dirt on your friends. While driving Ella home today, she shared an interesting morsel from the backseat about her mother. "You know what, Leilen? One time when we were leaving Jennifer's house, my mom killed a duck. We ran over it." Actually, I think she used the word "squished". Upon further questioning, I learned that it was not the first duck her mom's annihilated. I decided to press the issue a bit. "So, Ella, what else has your mom run over?" And although nothing came to her mind at the time, it's a subject I'll gladly revisit . The beauty is I've got Ella once a week for the rest of the month. Heh, heh, heh...