Kevin and Linda popped by in the afternoon to give us some niangao Linda made. Linda made niangao as it was the last day of CNY and they were doing the rounds. We were their third stop. When they said they were going over to the Seattle side next to pass the niangao to Kevin’s sister and planned to do some grocery shopping at Uwajimaya too, I impulsively said they could leave Curtis at my place if they want – it’ll give them a little alone time to run their errands. Kevin grabbed onto the opportunity and was out of the door before I knew it.
Bleah. I totally didn’t know what I got myself into! Babysitting is way more tiring that I expect. Luckily, Curtis did not cry at all even though Kevin said he’ll definitely cry for the first fifteen minutes. He kept running round in circles and seems tireless. I did not know that two-year-olds had so much energy. My place had no toys and I was afraid he’ll be bored, but he was very happy just running around the place and playing with a handheld massager and the iDog I got for Hongping for Christmas. I didn’t dare take my eyes off him for a minute in case he knocks himself into something – just that stress and fear alone was exhausting. I can’t imagine how Linda and all the other Moms I know do it 24 hours a day!
And Hongping didn’t help at all – he simply sat at his table and worked; only lifting his head occasionally to say, “Hello Curtis”. Little Curtis is also very smart. I told him to go “play with Uncle Hongping”, but he somehow knew he wasn’t supposed to do that. So he’ll run up to Hongping and stare at him silently for a few minutes and run back to me laughing.
I have to admit that for all the stress and exhaustion trying to keep up with this constant bundle of energy, Curtis is a very joyful kid to have in the house. He didn’t throw a single tantrum and his antics of climbing up and down chairs and sofas brought much laughter to a usually quiet afternoon. I actually had a lot of fun taking care of this little two-year-old for the couple of hours. I love how he answers questions with simple childish logic and how he attempts to help in his little ways when I was doing the vacuuming. When I asked if he wanted to help me vacuum, he nodded his head vigorously. He rolled up the yoga mat and put it away before helping me plug in the vacuum, only to run and jump back to the sofa while staring at me with big innocent eyes, waiting for me to finish vacuuming. Kawaii ne!
All in all, it was an enjoyable afternoon and a memorable experience, mainly because it was only for an afternoon. I cannot fathom doing this long-term at all! The responsibility, the stress! Just the thought of it is scary enough. Some people are meant for parenthood and some aren’t. I guess we fall into the latter. Just a couple of hours every now and then will more than fulfill our parental experience ☺
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