James ‘babysits’ for an hour
Yesterday James said he would ‘babysit’ for our kids when I had to go to work early. He acted as if he was doing me an enormous favour, when really they’re his kids and his responsibility just as much as mine. Anyway, I did most of the donkey work: made their packups, got their clothes and Tom’s school bag out ready, even their favourite cereal in bowls with spoons in. All he had to do was wash, dress, breakfast and take them to school/ nursery. It should have been a piece of cake for him.
Instead I get a phone call from Tom’s school at 12 o’clock (naturally when I’m in a meeting) saying he hasn’t got his packed lunch and have to quickly ring a friend and ask her to make one and take it in for him. Then at 4:20 when I’m on my way to pick him up I happen to see one his shoes at the side of the road (!?) When I get to the childminder’s she’s annoyed with me because Annie’s soothing blanket wasn’t in her bag and so she’d had a difficult time getting her off to sleep, and she had to spend 10 minutes at school looking for Tom’s shoe which she spies in my hand and thinks I took out of school for some peverse reason. Then to cap it all, James breezes in late, and says as he’s helped me out by looking after the kids, he’s told a friend he can go on his stag weekend the day after. I ask him about the shoe situation and he gets all defensive.
“Last time I saw them they were in the cloakroom. I gave them to Annie to put away.”
Annie is 20 months old, for goodness sake.