I asked my husband what I should write about this week in my column and he suggested that I should write about my wonderful, long-suffering husband. I will leave that for another day. Instead, I would like to give thanks to my parents for being awesome and for babysitting when we are in danger of committing infanticide. Here are two examples of how great they are:
A few months ago, my dad took my son to Exploration Place to play so I could do some errands and we were to meet up for lunch later in the day. When I called dad to see how things were going, he told me that my little darling walked all around the play area only to discover a Thomas the Tank Engine railroad set. In a slightly beseeching tone, my dad told me: "I can't get him to leave!" Eventually he was able to convince the toddler to leave to have a hamburger and we met up for lunch. He has spent over an hour playing trains with his grandson. I wouldn't have made half that time.
A few months ago, my mom and I went to Fabricland to buy fabric so I could make curtains for the kids' rooms. As I handed my mom "The Leash" for the toddler, she told me that he didn't need it because "he would listen to his Grandma." I laughed because I've been in Fabricland with my son before, and told my mom that I wasn't chasing after him. Needless to say, I spent a lot of time calmly browsing through the bolts of fabric and my mom spent a lot of time running after the toddler who was having a great time hiding from his Nana. Out of breath, she carried him under one arm and announced that they were waiting in the van for me. Without my mom watching my son, I never would have been able to buy fabric without tears (his or mine) and I now have an excellent memory of my mom running as fast as she could in flipflops after a little blond terror. These are the moments you remember.
As I've mentioned before, one of the reasons that my husband and I moved to Prince George was to have kids and to be closer to my family. I love that my children have a special relationship with their grandparents and that our move to Prince George made it happen. My parents are the best. And I'm not just saying this because I want them to babysit...
