Happy Hours and Holidays

A long, long list of babysitters is critical to Foruth Part success. Well, critical if you have the need for babysitters. Not so important if you don't need sitters. So, I need sitters. Leaving six-year-old twin girls at home by themselves is not a good idea even if they can brush their own teeth and put on their PJs.

We do have a long list, but it gets short when you try to find one for, let's say, something in the next few hours. When I plan ahead and pay attention to the calendar, I have the sitters lined up and only need send out a reminder text. I mean, thank heavens for texting. When, I forget an event, let's say basketball season!!, scrambling for a babysitter has to happen.

Yeah, since Chris isn't playing basketball anymore, I've kind of forgotten that the high school season has started and my husband coaches basketball -- details!

Next week, the holiday season officially kicks off. Yes, there is great debate that Christmas has appeared too soon -- I have friends who have trees up already. Decorated trees up already! But, first we have Thanksgiving. That means a week off school and a few days of vacation for me. Oh, and remember, it's basketball season. Sprinkle in a few practices next week and games two times a week over the next month and a half. Those games happen at night. Practices during the day -- morning when it is a school holiday.

I have twin six-year-old girls and my husband coaches high school basketball. I must plan ahead. Not only to earn a fourth part, but to also have coverage at home.

So when the opportunity for a Friday evening happy hour presents with people I like to be around, I commit. And, then, when the day before the happy hour comes, I see my husband readying for the annual basketball tournament this time of year. Yikes! It's basketball season. I forgot. 'Scramble for a sitter' time. That might be a good name for a last-minute, sitter-finding business. 

Thankfully, I only had to go three deep into the sitter list and the one I found is a fav of the girls. Really, my girls adore and love all their sitters. We are blessed!

I got a happy hour (two hours), caught up and laughed with some work friends and only had to lay out $20 to the sitter. She bought pizza for dinner on her own. That was a detail I forgot during my scramble -- dinner for my children. Grief.

An aside, she also saw our list of house projects and she volunteered to paint our laundry room, dining room and office -- for free. As a Christmas gift.

Bring on the holidays! I see another happy hour (or two) in my future while the sitter paints. 

That's happy. That's holidays. That's a lotta fourth parts!