i am domestic, and i am thrown for a loop.
right now, it's saturday night, and i'm nestled in my brother and
sister-in-law's beautiful home, up in what i'd fondly refer to as the
boonies. i'm wearing my work clothes- i dressed today as "mod andrea,"
in my boxy black dress, white hoop earrings, and red tights. the
ensemble is now made complete by my sister-in-law's purple fuzzy
slippers, and a little bit of crayon under my fingernails. my
year-and-a-half old niece is asleep in her room, and i'm thinking it
should by all means be at least midnight. it is not even close.
it was a whirlwind kind of day, (work, work, work!) which ended with
my evening plans being cancelled, and my brother and sister-in-law's
babysitter cancelling on them too. you do the math. the two of them
are now off for a very well-deserved dinner and movie excursion, and
i'm trying to remember what it is that people do when they're
babysitting on a saturday night. all i can remember is that i should
raid the refrigerator. (people with children tend to actually keep
food in their houses. suckers.)
this would be my very first attempt at babysitting since eighth grade,
when i was reprimanded one too many times for falling asleep
(literally) on the job by my only client, and susequently let go. but
i think i did all right tonight- little Rose and i played blocks, had
juice and stories and drew pictures, and i only hit her head once,
(totally by accident, my hand to god) so i think i can count myself as
successful.
having said that, domesticity is my nightmare. my apartment is
certifiably non-childproof. i woke up in a nervous sweat from a dream
that i was getting married. i had to leave my niece's dirty diaper on
the changing table because i was utterly perplexed by the weirdo
diaper machine thing. the only food i really have in my apartment is
stuck to the plates in my sink that are still there from my oscar
party. and i like it that way.
but for right now, it's good to spend some time on the other side.
it's comfy here- leather couches, good cable, and a sweet laptop. and
in fact, it's probably the exact opposite of a typical saturday night.
instead of spending too much money on food and drink, i'm getting paid
(yes, i know it's my brother, and i fully plan to refuse the cash) to
steal all of their food and drink. it's not so bad, really. maybe the
fact that i'm not only tolerating it, i'm kind of enjoying it, might
mean that i'm starting to get old. oh, well. so be it.
so goodnight everyone, from this snowy little new england town. the
nightlife will have to go on without me tonight- there's a 48 hours
mystery and a bag of tortilla chips with my name written all over
them.
