ninanevermore (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
ninanevermore) wrote2009-07-21 02:36 pm
ninanevermore) wrote2009-07-21 02:36 pm
Tuesday – Waking Up the Babysitter (by Annoying the Shih Tzu Out of Her)
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I woke up an hour late this morning but still made it out of the house pretty close to on time. It turns out I didn't need to rush so much, since my babysitter also overslept this morning.
Once thing I have to get used to with paying a person to watch my son in her home as opposed to dropping him off at a commercial daycare center is that instead of being greeted by a bright-eyed woman who has showered, dressed herself, fixed her hair, had breakfast and downed whatever caffeinated beverages she needs to get herself moving, is I drop my son off with a bleary eyed person still in her pajamas. I am not just sympathetic, I am jealous since that is how I, myself, would look at that time of day if I didn't have to go to work. On the weekends, sometimes it's noon or later before I bother getting dressed. Carlie's mom confessed that she sets her alarm so that she wakes up just enough to stumble to the couch to pass back out so that she wakes up when I knock. Neither she nor her daughters are early risers.
Only this morning, she forgot to stumble to the couch, so she stayed in bed. Her bedroom is in the back of the house, far from the doorbell. It must have seemed very soft and comfortable to her.
I knocked. No response. I rang the bell. No response. I called her phone. No answer. It's her cell phone, so she's either close enough to it to hear it or she's not. She wasn't. I didn't leave a message, because "Wake up!" is a stupid message to leave on a cell phone, anyway. On an answering machine, shouting that message might rouse someone. I don't even think she has a land line, and most people with land lines have call notes these days. I miss answering machines. With answering machines, you could always talk to certain people as if they had actually answered say, "I know you're there and you're screening your calls. It's me, damnit, pick up!"
Cell phones aren't handy like that.
I considered seeing if I could make my way into her back yard and maybe knock on her bedroom window, but that seemed kind of invasive. Her doorbell isn't very loud. Instead of a hearty Ding, dong! it makes more of a hesitant ping. No exclamation point behind that sound. It's bored statement rather than an announcement: Someone's at the door, if you care to know. If not, never mind, then. Ignore me. It's easy.
I figured out that if I hit the doorbell over and over, all that pinging made Missy the Shih Tzu bark. Unfortunately, the bark of an elderly Shih Tzu leaves a lot to be desired as an alarm. She's a smallish dog with a smallish bark. This morning I wished she were a Labrador retriever. Labs are very sweet dog that bark loud enough to wake the dead. It's a thunderous, resounding bark that resonates from within their ribcage. All Missy could do was squeak out a "Yip! Yip!" that was enthusiastic, but not loud enough to rouse anyone.
I called Jeff to see if he was home yet, but he wasn't. He'd stopped off to visit his mother in the nursing home after work. I considered driving over to my dad's, but by the time I went home, got a change of clothes and some other essentials for my son, and drove the 20 miles over to my father's house, I wouldn't save any time. I might as well stand at the front door and keep annoying the Shih Tzu.
Finally, I heard someone fumbling to unlock the deadbolts on the door, and a bleary-eyed Carlie's Mom opened the door. I smiled at her.
"Rise and shine!" I said, relieved and happy to see her.
She gave me a wan, sleepy smile in return. "Uh, huh," was all she said. I don't think she knew what time it was, or suspected I had been out there for 30 minutes. My son ran past her into the house, and we wished each other a good day.
I guess we were both late for work this morning, but she got to show up in late in her pajamas.
Like I said, I'm jealous.
* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * # * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *
.
.
I woke up an hour late this morning but still made it out of the house pretty close to on time. It turns out I didn't need to rush so much, since my babysitter also overslept this morning.
Once thing I have to get used to with paying a person to watch my son in her home as opposed to dropping him off at a commercial daycare center is that instead of being greeted by a bright-eyed woman who has showered, dressed herself, fixed her hair, had breakfast and downed whatever caffeinated beverages she needs to get herself moving, is I drop my son off with a bleary eyed person still in her pajamas. I am not just sympathetic, I am jealous since that is how I, myself, would look at that time of day if I didn't have to go to work. On the weekends, sometimes it's noon or later before I bother getting dressed. Carlie's mom confessed that she sets her alarm so that she wakes up just enough to stumble to the couch to pass back out so that she wakes up when I knock. Neither she nor her daughters are early risers.
Only this morning, she forgot to stumble to the couch, so she stayed in bed. Her bedroom is in the back of the house, far from the doorbell. It must have seemed very soft and comfortable to her.
I knocked. No response. I rang the bell. No response. I called her phone. No answer. It's her cell phone, so she's either close enough to it to hear it or she's not. She wasn't. I didn't leave a message, because "Wake up!" is a stupid message to leave on a cell phone, anyway. On an answering machine, shouting that message might rouse someone. I don't even think she has a land line, and most people with land lines have call notes these days. I miss answering machines. With answering machines, you could always talk to certain people as if they had actually answered say, "I know you're there and you're screening your calls. It's me, damnit, pick up!"
Cell phones aren't handy like that.
I considered seeing if I could make my way into her back yard and maybe knock on her bedroom window, but that seemed kind of invasive. Her doorbell isn't very loud. Instead of a hearty Ding, dong! it makes more of a hesitant ping. No exclamation point behind that sound. It's bored statement rather than an announcement: Someone's at the door, if you care to know. If not, never mind, then. Ignore me. It's easy.
I figured out that if I hit the doorbell over and over, all that pinging made Missy the Shih Tzu bark. Unfortunately, the bark of an elderly Shih Tzu leaves a lot to be desired as an alarm. She's a smallish dog with a smallish bark. This morning I wished she were a Labrador retriever. Labs are very sweet dog that bark loud enough to wake the dead. It's a thunderous, resounding bark that resonates from within their ribcage. All Missy could do was squeak out a "Yip! Yip!" that was enthusiastic, but not loud enough to rouse anyone.
I called Jeff to see if he was home yet, but he wasn't. He'd stopped off to visit his mother in the nursing home after work. I considered driving over to my dad's, but by the time I went home, got a change of clothes and some other essentials for my son, and drove the 20 miles over to my father's house, I wouldn't save any time. I might as well stand at the front door and keep annoying the Shih Tzu.
Finally, I heard someone fumbling to unlock the deadbolts on the door, and a bleary-eyed Carlie's Mom opened the door. I smiled at her.
"Rise and shine!" I said, relieved and happy to see her.
She gave me a wan, sleepy smile in return. "Uh, huh," was all she said. I don't think she knew what time it was, or suspected I had been out there for 30 minutes. My son ran past her into the house, and we wished each other a good day.
I guess we were both late for work this morning, but she got to show up in late in her pajamas.
Like I said, I'm jealous.
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That said, the times I keep someone else's kids, I do feel responsible to be up, dressed and watching at the door. But I guess everyone is different:)
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We both live with pre-schoolers and pre-schoolers like to play with buttons and switches, so it might not even be her fault. As long as it doesn't become a habbit with her, I can forgive this one occasion.
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She was all apologies today; her 5 year old had a rough night and they'd both been awake off and on all night. These things happen.
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This is the first incident I've had with her; the others were all with Coco (who I canned). I woke Coco and Steve up some mornings, too. Apparently, it's not that uncommon with the babysitting set.
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Turns out she'd had a bad night and she and her 5 year old had both been up off and on all night. These things happen. If it happens again, I'm definitely gonna think about buying her either a louder dog or a louder doorbell. ;P
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We keep our door unlocked. The joys of living in a small town, so my clients just walk in. Some call...we have a phone our bedroom.
Oh, and in Iowa, to be registered, you HAVE to have a landline. Not that mine works right now...
*HUGS*
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I'm not sure what the rules are in Texas for a registered child care provider, but if you are only watching 3 or 4 your don't have to register. Mostly, she just watches my son. The website I found her through provided background checks and all that stuff.
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You don't have to register in Iowa either, though I am, but yeah, you can't watch as many kids as a registered provider. I don't know if they have to do background checks as we do. Good that you can still check her out!!