""Have fun, we'll be home by 11. Help yourself to anything in the fridge," I said to the babysitter as I sauntered out the door for a rare, long-awaited date night. An hour later, I clinked glasses with my husband and sipped Prosecco before the Philharmonic. I'd left my 16-month-old baby with another woman for the first time and was overcome with emotion. "Are you OK?" My husband asked. "No -" I started, as I ate a French fry soaked in ketchup. "I'm...great!""
"I'd watched countless scenes where parents interacted with a babysitter before leaving for the evening. "Adventures in Babysitting," "Baby Boom," "When A Stranger Calls," even "Mary Poppins." When I became a nanny, I acted out that same moment hundreds of times. Saying goodbye to the mom or dad as they shuffled off to events. Dressing their child in pajamas laid out on the bed. Whispering to the returning parents, "How was it?""
I left my 16-month-old daughter with a non-family babysitter for the first time and felt unexpected joy rather than anxiety. Having been a nanny, I had enacted similar goodbyes many times, but after six years of infertility the ordinary act felt surreal and celebratory. A rare date night with my husband — clinking glasses and listening to the Philharmonic — underscored the milestone. Memories of film portrayals of babysitting and my professional childcare past framed the experience, turning a simple night out into an emotionally meaningful confirmation of hard-won motherhood.
Read at Business Insider
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