I think about 6 months have passed and I'm finally able to talk about it with a little laugh. I knew it was time when Jackson told someone, "My mom is traumatized by Bahama bucks, so we don't go there."
Nothing against a little shaved ice. I like it as much as the next person. Just an eerie reminder for me.
A few months ago Jason and I went out on a date. We used our regular 16 year old babysitter. She's been sitting for us since before Lillian and several times after Lil was around 6 months. She was the daughter of a co-worker of Jason's. The boys LOVED her! She hadn't always driven herself here but since she got her license, she drove using her dads car. The boys were enamored with the fact that it was a BMW. These boys love cars!
All was well when Jason and I got home much earlier than expected that night. We are old and we can't hang like we used to! The babysitter told us they WALKED to the candy store in the neighborhood like we had discussed and then came home. She also mentioned that they went to Bahama Bucks and the boys liked it a lot. She left pretty quickly after we paid her as she normally did. Nothing out of the ordinary.
After she left, I got to thinking about HOW she took all 3 kids 3 miles down the road to the nearest Bahama bucks. I also made a mental note to tell her that I prefer them NOT go anywhere they have to drive since I hadn't specified that before. I usually left my keys in plain sight in case of an emergency situation but I never specifically said Do or don't drive anywhere. Then I had this image of the cute 16 year old driving my minivan down the road and something just didn't seem right. I checked the garage and there my super sporty Honda odyssey sits in the exact spot that I left it. No way anyone could have pulled it in as precisely as I did.
Ok, now I was worried. I went and told Jason about my concerns. How did our babysittter drive all 3 kids 3 miles away without so much as a car seat? Clearly something was amiss.
Jason is always so cool and collected and he said, "I don't know, we'll just have to wait until Jackson gets up in the morning and ask him."
So around 7am Jackson comes bounding into our room and our bed. I sleepily looked up as Jason is already baiting him.
"Hey buddy, I heard you guys had fun last night!"
"Yep! Babysitter took us to Bahama Bucks!"
"Oh yeah, that's good. But how did you guys get there?"
"We got to ride in HER car! Dad, did you know she drives a BMW?!"
"Yeah, I know buddy. What about your sister? Where did she sit?"
(PREPARE YOURSELF......)
"Oh, she stayed home, she was already asleep!"
Gasp. can't. breathe.
He clearly saw our level of shock immediately and he went on to say that he'd questioned her on why they were leaving his sister at home alone and the babysitter assured him it would be fine, they wouldn't be gone long. At that point I'm certain his desire for shave ice overcame his loyalty to his sister. Besides, he's not one to question authority too much.
I wanted to react immediately. Jason needed to think on it. He's always so level headed.
After some thought he suggested I try to contact her and so I asked her to call me. I never received a call after a day so Jason took it over her head and had to contact her father.
He apologized for her poor choice and was sincere.
I never heard from her and have since changed my babysitter routine. I go over EVERY detail. Especially the ones about NOT driving my children anywhere and never ever leaving one of them unattended for any amount of time. This may seem overboard but clearly some things just need to be said and not just implied.
It took me several months to even book another sitter and I do prefer ones that are older than the 16 year old average. But rest assured, I never leave the house without telling them that I expect them to stay put with my children in the house!
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