"I don't know why they're not paying me for this"

"I'm gunna jump in first!"

"No. I am."

"How about you two jump in together?" I interject before the feud of these six year old boys forces me to pull over into the breakdown lane.  I glance up into my rearview mirror and have to stop myself from laughing at the scowling looks being exchanged between the soon to be first graders.

Simultaneously they grumble, "fine."

Before I get a moment to thank them for being so mature, Aidan and Zac are already deep into a rapid conversation.  I let the boys chat without interruptions for the remaining five minutes of driving time.



I put the car in Park.  Without hesitation, Aidan and Zac open the car door.  I hear the doors shut and see them run from the white Impala as if their lives depended on it.  A smile spreads across my face and I get out and walk towards the backyard of mine and Zac's cousins' house.

"DON'T GET IN THE POOL BEFORE I'M AT THE POOL AND CAN SEE YOU!!!!!!!!" I scream at the top of my lungs to make sure I'm fulfilling my responsibilities as babysitter.

"Come on Lindsey!" Whines Zachary.

Aidan joins in, "yeah, we wanna go in."

Setting a bad example, I sprint towards them on the extremely large back porch.  By the time I reach them, I pant, "ju-... mp.  You... Can..  Jump."  Splash.



"Lindseyyyyy. Aidan's jumping over the side of the pool.  Look!" Zac points his finger to the green grass beyond the pool we're wading in.

"Zac, it's fine. He's already over. When he comes back I'll tell him that he shouldn't be doing it.  But you shouldn't tattletale like that.  It's not good. Okay?"  I look at him with a slightly stern expression to assert my request.

"K."

To make sure Aidan's alright, I swim over to the side of the above ground pool.  I hear him singing "I'm Sexy and I Know it" which makes me burst with laughter.

Walking towards me he winks and says, "watch this."

What this is, I'm not exactly sure.  The closest word for this is dancing.  He swats his hips, attemps to spin on the ground, and moves his legs ferociously about.  Once finished, he runs over to the pool and flops back in.

"Wow Aidan. You're a good dancer." I compliment.

"I know right? I mean, I don't know why they're not paying me for this," he rolls his eyes in frustration.