We've just organised babysitters (and flipping two shifts of them as well!) for tomorrow night for my step-mother-in-law's birthday meal.
I feel all tense and irritated about it. I didn't ever think I'd be like this about babysitting, but I hate hate hate organising it. It's not that I fear for my children or anything, it's more about the babysitter themselves. A small part of me always worrys if it's going to be a night when they act up (and there's four of them so the chances are quite high). A bigger part of me always feels rotten that I've asked someone to give up a night in the comfort of their own home to come and sit in ours. And the biggest part of me stresses over the state of every room in the house. It's not like having someone over for a cuppa - a babysitter gets to see the lounge, the kitchen, the bathroom, the bedrooms - and heck, anything else they want to, they have the house to themselves!
Not helped by lovely but annally over-early-for-everything in-laws who took 'Yes, we could just about manage to get there for eight' as 'please organise a table for half past seven and then ring us several times suggesting we should aim for seven in case we're late'
There's a reason we struggle to get out of the house on time - making the reservation for an earlier time doesn't help!
Sorry, I needed that.