So, this first attempt at blogging should provide some entertainment – hopefully for both me as the writer and you as the reader. We shall see.

Today’s observation came from the babysitting class my daughter took. Three takeaways:

1. Ask if there is a gun in the house.

2. If the kids threaten to kill you, call 911.

3. Come up with a code word that you can either text or call home and say which means that one of your parents needs to get over to the babysitting location, ASAP. Some scenarios that might warrant this is if the parents come home drunk and then want to drive you home, something there gives you the creeps.

All good advice, I’m sure – but whatever happened to just raiding the fridge and letting the kids stay up late?

Wow – times have changed. So has the cost of hiring a babysitter. This new babysitter, with a card to prove she’s taken this class, will cost you $7 an hour. I thought when I got 50 cents, it was a windfall.