I like to think of myself as fairly intelligent (thought it might not always come off that way on this site) and somewhat street-smart. But despite this, sometimes people can take advantage of me.
Case in point:
This afternoon, I took Zoey and Zed over to the home of one of Zoey's preschool chums for a playdate. Zoey and Becky are inseparable through the week at school. Plus, Becky has a little sister a few months older than Zed.
When we arrived, Alice, Becky's mother, stayed with us in the playroom for a few minutes. She then asked if it was ok if she made a phone call for work (she runs some Avon-ish business out of her home). I told her, "No problem."
Thirty minutes later, she came back into the room. "Sorry about that," she said. She played with the children for about ten minutes before excusing herself to answer the telephone.
Twenty minutes later, she came back into the room. "Sorry about that," she said. She played with the children for about fifteen minutes before asking if it was ok if she put a pot roast in the oven. I told her, "No problem."
Forty minutes later, I decided that it was time to head home. I looked through the house and finally found her outside, sweeping her front porch. The hell? I thanked her for letting us come over (had to be polite (despite wanting to scream at her with every ounce of my being); I'll be seeing these people at the pickup/dropoff lines four days a week for the next six months). "We should do this again sometime," she exclaimed as I was putting the kids in the car. "Sure," I replied. But next time, you're paying me $25 an hour. I may be stupid and can be easily taken advantage of, but I don't come cheap.
So in conclusion:
- Alice got some time to herself to catch up on her work, do a little housekeeping, and prepare dinner. With free babysitting.
- Alice's husband came home to a nice meal.
- And I got ganked. Although I did find out I'm perfectly capable of single-handedly taking care of four children.
