It's technically Wednesday here but it is still Tuesday in some parts of the country and the world, so I am going to go ahead and participate in Time Travel Tuesday.
My first "real" job experience was the summer between my junior and senior year of high school. I was a file clerk at a local construction company and while I worked with very nice people I was bored out of my mind most of the time and there isn't much to tell about that job.
But I'm not going to talk about that job experience. I want to talk about the job experience that I had the summer after my 7th grade year. I guess that would have made me 13 years old. A family from church that had moved to town about a year and a half before had a little girl named L. who was about two and a half years old. Her mom was working that summer for the company where my mom was working and so I had my first real babysitting job.
I can't remember how many days a week I babysat and I don't remember exactly how much money I made... but it seemed like a lot to a 13 year old. I remember that with the money I made I bought my first CD player and my first CD's. The first CD I bought was the Greatest Hits of the Righteous Brothers. I know... that's not what most 13 year olds would get but I have always loved Oldies.
I think I was a pretty competent babysitter but the summer did not go without incident. That summer I was also taking some enrichment classes at a local college. I don't remember exactly what I was taking... but it was probably something like etiquette or acting or something like that. Well on the mornings when I was taking those classes, my younger brother would watch after L. One day when my mom was bringing me back to the house, my brother came out the front door to meet us and shut the front door behind him... accidentally locking the door.
There was then a confused child inside the house and a freaked out babysitter and her brother outside the house. L. could not unlock their complicated front door lock and so my brother and I had to wait until her mom could get back to the house to unlock the door. Fortunately they had a window in their front door and we could see L. and she could see us. We kept her occupied and it all worked out just fine.... but it was pretty scary.
One way we kept her occupied was by singing the theme song to The Elephant Show. The lyrics were as follows:
Skinnamarinkydinkydink. Skinnamarinkydoo. I - Love - You!
Skinnamarinkydinkydink. Skinnamarinkydoo. I - Love - You!
I love you in the morning and in the afternoon.
I love you in the evening, underneath the moon.
Skinnamarinkydinkydink. Skinnamarinkydoo. I - Love - You!
Skinnamarinkydoo, I - Love - You -- Too!. (Boop, boop, ee-doo)
There were little hand motions to go along with it too. I don't know how many of you ever saw The Elephant Show... but think Barney only with a giant elephant instead of a purple dinosaur and you have the result of a somewhat less annoying tv show. We watched a lot of Elephant Show that summer.
I also got hooked on the soap opera All My Children that summer. I would spend the night with their family sometimes and L.'s mom watched All My Children. This was long after L. had gone to bed but I would watch it with her some nights. This was the days when the characters of Haley and Brian were on All My Children. Who knows what became of the actor who played Brian but Haley was played by Kelly Ripa.
I was also not the greatest cook at the time (who am I kidding I am still not the greatest cook). Anyways, L. and I ate a lot of Kraft Macaroni and Cheese that summer. This still constitutes a well balanced meal in my house and apparently it does for L. as well. She told my mom not long ago that when she got married she was going to have it at her rehearsal dinner. She's not getting married any time soon so she might change her mind between now and then... but I say go for it! :-)
I can't believe that L. is now a Senior in High School. Obviously we both survived the summer and lived to tell about it. It was a great experience for me and L. is still one of my favorite people in the world. I love her to death!
So depending on your definition of a job... that was my first job. For more Time Travel Tuesday participants, visit Annie at My Life as Annie.
My first "real" job experience was the summer between my junior and senior year of high school. I was a file clerk at a local construction company and while I worked with very nice people I was bored out of my mind most of the time and there isn't much to tell about that job.
But I'm not going to talk about that job experience. I want to talk about the job experience that I had the summer after my 7th grade year. I guess that would have made me 13 years old. A family from church that had moved to town about a year and a half before had a little girl named L. who was about two and a half years old. Her mom was working that summer for the company where my mom was working and so I had my first real babysitting job.
I can't remember how many days a week I babysat and I don't remember exactly how much money I made... but it seemed like a lot to a 13 year old. I remember that with the money I made I bought my first CD player and my first CD's. The first CD I bought was the Greatest Hits of the Righteous Brothers. I know... that's not what most 13 year olds would get but I have always loved Oldies.
I think I was a pretty competent babysitter but the summer did not go without incident. That summer I was also taking some enrichment classes at a local college. I don't remember exactly what I was taking... but it was probably something like etiquette or acting or something like that. Well on the mornings when I was taking those classes, my younger brother would watch after L. One day when my mom was bringing me back to the house, my brother came out the front door to meet us and shut the front door behind him... accidentally locking the door.
There was then a confused child inside the house and a freaked out babysitter and her brother outside the house. L. could not unlock their complicated front door lock and so my brother and I had to wait until her mom could get back to the house to unlock the door. Fortunately they had a window in their front door and we could see L. and she could see us. We kept her occupied and it all worked out just fine.... but it was pretty scary.
One way we kept her occupied was by singing the theme song to The Elephant Show. The lyrics were as follows:
Skinnamarinkydinkydink. Skinnamarinkydoo. I - Love - You!
Skinnamarinkydinkydink. Skinnamarinkydoo. I - Love - You!
I love you in the morning and in the afternoon.
I love you in the evening, underneath the moon.
Skinnamarinkydinkydink. Skinnamarinkydoo. I - Love - You!
Skinnamarinkydoo, I - Love - You -- Too!. (Boop, boop, ee-doo)
There were little hand motions to go along with it too. I don't know how many of you ever saw The Elephant Show... but think Barney only with a giant elephant instead of a purple dinosaur and you have the result of a somewhat less annoying tv show. We watched a lot of Elephant Show that summer.
I also got hooked on the soap opera All My Children that summer. I would spend the night with their family sometimes and L.'s mom watched All My Children. This was long after L. had gone to bed but I would watch it with her some nights. This was the days when the characters of Haley and Brian were on All My Children. Who knows what became of the actor who played Brian but Haley was played by Kelly Ripa.
I was also not the greatest cook at the time (who am I kidding I am still not the greatest cook). Anyways, L. and I ate a lot of Kraft Macaroni and Cheese that summer. This still constitutes a well balanced meal in my house and apparently it does for L. as well. She told my mom not long ago that when she got married she was going to have it at her rehearsal dinner. She's not getting married any time soon so she might change her mind between now and then... but I say go for it! :-)
I can't believe that L. is now a Senior in High School. Obviously we both survived the summer and lived to tell about it. It was a great experience for me and L. is still one of my favorite people in the world. I love her to death!
So depending on your definition of a job... that was my first job. For more Time Travel Tuesday participants, visit Annie at My Life as Annie.
4 comments:
I remember that song!
That locked door experience would have been scary!
I was hooked on All my Children in junior high too, remember when Haley had black hair?
That is so funny that Annie said that because I was gonna say remember when Haley first came to all my children and she looked Goth! Who knew such a pretty lady was under all of that?
It sounds like you were a great babysitter...so much fun! I'm impressed at how you made the best of the whole "locked door" thing! Thanks for sharing your fun story! :)
Kerri, that is a great story. I bet you have lots of laughs about your baby sitting times.
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