Those Darn Youngsters

So in order to get my rent paid (never on time, of course) I took up 3 babysitting jobs. I'm probably risking future employment by talking about them on the world wide web, but what the heck. Working for families such as these in an area such as this includes (mostly) wonderful children and overcommitted, over-stressed parents. Why someone would pay me well above minimum wage to play with their kids just so she can take a nap upstairs is beyond me. One family actually had me just making sure the kids weren't sitting in front of the computer or TV all day. What ever happened to the vacation part of summer? What's a vacation if not being a sloth on the couch, conserving all energy except when having to change the channel (you can call it being lazy, I'll call it being green). This energy was then stored into a reserve and saved for beach/water park days. But hey, if I have to resort to taking two very pleasant, polite, well-behaved and entertaining girls to Disneyland in order to make some money, so be it.
I think these wealthy moms have a learned helplessness of thinking they need all this help in order to do their work and watch their kids. I'm not sure they realize kids are VERY good at self-entertainment. I also think it's okay for brothers to wrestle around with each other sometimes. They're not going to kill each other. And even if one gets seriously injured it only makes for a great story later in life. Also, these kids are supplied with every game, craft, and activity under the sun. Oh my goodness. My childhood summers were full of hoses and VBS, the occasional trip to the beach and some camping, not to mention playdates galore. None of this new-craft-kit-everyday-5-different-summer-camps-and-someone-to-watch-your-every-move nonsense. But I guess I am already quickly becoming one of those old grandma's who preaches "back in my day"s to every passing ear.
Now, the problems with this job are that 1) sometimes I'll get called or cancelled on very last minute, which is annoying, to say the least and 2) because this is Malibu 2/3 of my families have left to spend July in Europe, which leaves me unemployed.
And so the days of laze begin. Since being unemployed I've taken to devoted and vigorous World Cup watching, gym ratting, and Oliver Twist reading. All three activities I heartily enjoy. The downside: the Cup is now over (and the final game wasn't even very exciting. bum.), I bake and eat more calories than I am expending at the gym each day, and I probably spend too much time inside (in my defense, the weather in Malibu has been cold and disappointing most days. We have to drive through the Canyon just to find enough sunshine to bask in).
The biggest upside to being in Malibu for the summer is getting to spend time with friends I might not have otherwise. The biggest downside--missing everyone who isn't here.