Single mom

I babysat yesterday for three of my cousins. They range in age from 4-11. Two young boys (4 & 5) and one older girl. It was quite an adventure, I'll tell you that.

Highlights:

• Watching the 4 year old giggle with excitement during "Madagascar"
• Seeing an elderly woman in the popcorn line look at me with a loving expression as I asked the 4 year old to be patient and stand in line with me
• Being encouraged in the Ladies room by a 12 year old who thought that the two small boys I had brought in there were mine. (She told me I was doing a good job, after I explained that I was babysitting)

Lowlights:

• Pulling the car over on the road to break up a fight that took place between the two gentlemen in the backseat over the mini-gameboy (Note: Let it be known that if I ever have kids, I will try my darndest to keep small electronic toys as far away from their tiny little hands as possible)
• Seeing the 4 year old bean the 5 year old in the face with a softball (Note: Let it be known that this was a total accident, but resulted in a sizeable tantrum)
• Bedtime (Note: It was entertaining watching the kids try pulling out every excuse in the book hoping to extend their hours of consciousness into the wee hours of the morning)

All in all, it was a fun evening. I think most people in the movie theater and crowded restaurant thought that I was a single parent (who apparently had my first child while I was in Jr. High). I got a lot of "Oooh, sorry for you, hun" looks from the good 'ol boys who were eating their seafood. And the ticket taker (cool high school boy) had zero patience with me as I ordered my tickets while chasing a preschooler around the sidewalk. I think I even caught an eye-roll. Lovely.

But the woman in the concession line seemed genuinely pleased that I used loving discipline to teach patience to the little guy who was trying his best to escape into the crowded theater. She had a kind look on her face. Or at least, that's how I took it. Come to think of it, it might have been more of a "bless your heart" (i.e. you poor girl). Either way, it made me smile.