Baby-sitters club

I'm loving this babysitting club thing I just became a part of. Not really like those books from my childhood, it's way, way better. It's not a job, it's freedom. Sure, I have to do my part, which is only to stay home 3 hours a week (Monday afternoons) and watch little kids for other moms who need a baby-sitter. I earn tickets- 1 per half hour, per child, which I can turn around and use whenever I need a sitter for Christopher. We start off with 30 tickets, and the idea is to try and maintain about 30. You should spend your tickets at about the same rate you use them. It's awesome. The best part is that it's totally guilt free- as long as I have tickets I can drop my kid off, walk away and do whatever I want without feeling I am taking advantage of somebody who might have better things to do with their time besides watch my kid while I go shopping, get my hair done, etc. I generally hate asking other people to watch my kids, but there have been times- Dr.'s appointments, volunteering at school, that I have desperately needed help and so would ask then, but I still felt bad about it. The good part about John's job is that when he is in town he can work from home and sometimes he can help me out, but he is supposed to be working, or on conference calls, and it's not all that easy or convenient for him either, which I feel bad about too.
But now, the guilt is all gone. It's liberating. I haven't used it a whole lot, only twice in two weeks so far, and that's ok, I'm not looking to dump my kid off on someone else all the time, just when I need to, or need to casually peruse a book store all by myself and regain a bit of my sanity. Also I seem to have picked a day and time that isn't in demand for a babysitter. Between just getting started, last Monday being a holiday, and yesterday, I've only babysat 2 little girls.

I don't know who the genius was that came up with this idea, but boy am I ever grateful that she had the idea, and it filtered down to my neck of the woods, and I have a friend motivated enough to organize it in my neighborhood.

Just a side note- a friend of mine was telling me her husband was looking at the tickets and was like "I could totally make counterfeit tickets and sell them to the moms at church!"- which of course totally defeats the guilt-free, do your part, fair trade of service idea.

Another side note- you'd think I would be able to keep my two blogs separate, being as one is about FOOD and the other one ANY OTHER RANDOM THING THAT POPS INTO MY BRAIN, but somehow I still manage to get them mixed up and try to post things (like this post for instance) to the wrong blog. Duh.