Category: babysitting

The Best Ten Dollars Ever

Posted in allowance, babysitting, beer, biking, Campfire Girls, car, dad, memoir, newspaper, siblings, Spain, want adsLeave a comment

(re-run) When I was a kid, I walked everywhere. I went to a Bluebird or Campfire Girls meeting a few blocks away from home, and one day, on the way back, I saw a pale green leaf fluttering on the street. I picked it up, un-wadded it and discovered it was money. A ten-dollar bill.… Continue reading The Best Ten Dollars Ever

My Perfect High School OCD Job

Posted in babysitting, bag boy, bar codes, Costco, grocery store, high school, McDonald's, memoir, OCD, scanners, teacher, uniforms, Wonder BreadLeave a comment

(re-run( After babysitting for every rug rat in my neighborhood and getting short-changed by a few of their parents (the going rate was 50 cents an hour), I moved into real jobs with time cards and pay stubs. The first one was as a window clerk at Mc Donald’s. I was fast. I could take… Continue reading My Perfect High School OCD Job

My Lucky Find After Campfire Girls

Posted in allowance, babysitting, beer, biking, Campfire Girls, car, dad, memoir, newspaper, siblings, Spain, want adsLeave a comment

(re-run) When I was a kid, I walked everywhere. I went to a Bluebird or Campfire Girls meeting a few blocks away from home, and one when I was ten, I saw a pale green leaf fluttering on the street. I picked it up, un-wadded it and discovered it was money. A ten-dollar bill. When… Continue reading My Lucky Find After Campfire Girls

Ten-year-old Girl Meets Fire

Posted in babysitting, beach, California, candles, fires, Footloose, Girl Scouts, Martha Stewart, memoir, relationshipsLeave a comment

(re-run) It was a Saturday night, and the woman who works for me was extra tired from her long honey-do list. We had just put on Footloose when she said, “I’m going to bed.” “Good night,” I said, looking at her ten year old daughter who was wearing my boots from forty years ago and… Continue reading Ten-year-old Girl Meets Fire

Lime Vodka, Raisinets, and Cheesecake

Posted in 4th of July, alcohol, babysitting, cheesecake, Des Moines, drinking, driver's license, February, house party, Iowa, memoir, raisins, teens, vodka, winter2 Comments

(re-run) It’s an American teenager’s rite of passage to get sick the first time they drink.  I was no exception. Aside from tasting different liqueurs on babysitting jobs after the kids went to bed, I had only tasted my dad’s beer, Schlitz. No thank you. I was not a fan of fizzy bitter fermentation. So… Continue reading Lime Vodka, Raisinets, and Cheesecake

My Friend, the Thief

Posted in babysitting, bus, cherry pie, department store, Des Moines, downtown, flat feet, Iowa, memoir, shoplifting, shopping center, store, store security, troll dollsLeave a comment

(re-run) We took the bus to go shopping downtown.  We weren’t old enough yet to drive, and it was a boring Saturday. Debbie suggested the shopping trip. We had a shopping center (before malls) within walking distance of our houses. A bus trip was more adventurous. Debbie was always up for adventure. She had moved… Continue reading My Friend, the Thief

Lime Vodka, Raisinets, and Cheesecake

Posted in 4th of July, alcohol, babysitting, cheesecake, Des Moines, drinking, driver's license, February, house party, Iowa, memoir, raisins, teens, vodka, winterLeave a comment

(re-run) It’s an American teenager’s rite of passage to get sick the first time they drink.  I was no exception. Aside from tasting different liqueurs on babysitting jobs after the kids went to bed, I had only tasted my dad’s beer, Schlitz. No thank you. I was not a fan of fizzy bitter fermentation. So… Continue reading Lime Vodka, Raisinets, and Cheesecake

The Best Ten Dollars Ever

Posted in allowance, babysitting, beer, biking, Campfire Girls, car, dad, memoir, newspaper, siblings, Spain, want adsLeave a comment

When I was a kid, I walked everywhere. I went to a Bluebird or Campfire Girls meeting a few blocks away from home, and one day, on the way back, I saw a pale green leaf fluttering on the street. I picked it up, un-wadded it and discovered it was money. A ten-dollar bill. When… Continue reading The Best Ten Dollars Ever

My Friend, the Thief

Posted in babysitting, bus, cherry pie, department store, Des Moines, downtown, flat feet, Iowa, memoir, shoplifting, shopping center, store, store security, troll dollsLeave a comment

We took the bus to go shopping downtown.  We weren’t old enough yet to drive, and it was a boring Saturday. Debbie suggested the shopping trip. We had a shopping center (before malls) within walking distance of our houses. A bus trip was more adventurous. Debbie was always up for adventure. She had moved in… Continue reading My Friend, the Thief

Social Butterfly

Posted in babysitting, childhood, chores, gifts, Iowa, memoir, parents, party, siblings, sleeping bag, sleepover, slumber party, social butterflyLeave a comment

I remember it as clearly as yesterday. The visual part is a little fuzzy, but the words are still there, fifty plus years later. I was in the basement where my mom was doing yet another load of laundry. “There’s a slumber party Saturday night at Lisa’s. Can I go?” My mom put down the… Continue reading Social Butterfly