Babysitting Bubbys

Shaindy* will never forget the night she came face-to-face with the prospect of becoming a babysitting bubby. She and her husband were out to dinner with her son and daughter-in-law who were then expecting their first baby. For Shaindy this would be the first grandchild.

“I’ll bet you can’t wait until the baby is born” her daughter-in-law said “so you can start babysitting for us.” No doubt the newlywed had visions of her mother-in-law staying overnight; walking with the carriage in the park; taking over the feeding the diapering the bathing and the caring — for hours or days at a time.

But Shaindy soon put those visions of bliss to rest. “I don’t think so” she said perhaps a little bluntly. “I know I’m going to love the baby. But babysitting is just not my thing.”

Undeterred her daughter-in-law smiled and said “You’ll change your mind after the baby is born. You’ll see.”