My Babysitting Adventure

I apologize for this post being late. Last week, I was busy taking care of my younger cousin Caden. I had a blast doing so, but the whole endeavor was exhausting. I found my mind occupied by how best to take care of him all the time. I have several friends and family members who have small kids. I wonder if this past week gave me a chance to experience what they do.

Caden treated me as if I was the older brother he never had. He wanted us to do everything together, and I found him endearing for that very reason. He was always curious, always asking questions, and I was more than happy to explain things to him. From the moment we ate breakfast together when I read him a bedtime story at night, he was by my side. It was fun but also somewhat draining.

Part of what made things exhausting is how quickly Caden shifted from task to task. In one moment, he’d be playing one game and insist that we spend time setting everything up, only to be distracted by something else thirty minutes later. For someone like me, who prefers to complete things one task at a time, it was a challenge to have to clean up all of the unfinished board games.

We baked chocolate chip cookies together. I worked to incorporate Caden into the mixing even though I like mixing the ingredients on my own. I heard he enjoyed working with food, so I wanted to give him an enjoyable experience. At his request, we added M&M to the cookies we made. That was probably his greatest contribution. Regardless, I doubt those cookies would’ve tasted so sweet if I had made them by myself.

One of the things that I ended up enjoying was the trip to the zoo. I’ve not been to the Houston Zoo since I was a boy. When I went to the zoo as a kid, all I had to worry about was myself and whatever animal I wanted to see next. This time, I was responsible for someone else too. I had to make sure that Caden didn’t get tired in the summer heat or lost in the crowds. I also answered any questions he had about the animals and exhibits to the best of my ability.

During his stay, we did watch a few Disney films. First was The Jungle Book – the original 1967 animated movie. My mother was surprised Caden had never watched it before, but it made sense to me: after all, the movie came out the same year that my dad was born. It wouldn’t be common knowledge to an eleven-year-old in 2021.

We next watched a couple of Studio Ghibli films – When Marnie Was There and Spirited Away. The first movie never fails to make me cry each time I watch it. The relationship between the main character and her grandmother toward the end reminds me of the relationship between me and my grandparents. The latter movie was more fantastic, full of monsters, witches, and adventures. Both movies had beautiful artwork that brought the stories’ settings to life. Because of the level of detail given to the settings, I could imagine walking around and exploring them myself. This gives all the movies Hayao Miyazaki a feeling found nowhere else.

Much of the time I spent with him involved playing games. We played board games like chess, checkers, and pachisi; card games like Skip-Bo and Texas hold ’em poker; and even the tabletop roleplaying game Dungeons and Dragons. At one point, we even played a game Caden had made up using his Lego pieces (I still don’t understand how it works, but I had a blast nonetheless). Playing with him made me realize how much I still appreciated such games. Though at times I was reluctant to play, in hindsight, I miss the company such games gave me. Board games can capture the attention of the players and bring them closer than those who play video games together. I suppose a piece of cardboard and some dice aren’t as distracting as a bright video game screen.

Much to my delight, Caden took to the math workbooks we bought for him. I had told him previously about how my mother homeschooled me over the summer to prepare me for each coming school year. Because of his previous school troubles, he wanted to try getting done with as many problems as possible. He was certainly more zealous than I was at his age; whenever I told him to complete a couple of pages of math, he’d complete several pages worth. I chastised him somewhat for this, as I wanted him to focus on a few problems at a time, but I couldn’t help but admire his work ethic for it. I know he’ll go far if he applies himself to school like that.

Being with Caden reminded me of what I like about being a teacher: the magic that comes with helping others. Seeing your students apply your lessons is a bit like an artist seeing themselves in a work of art. It communicates with others the best parts of yourself. I recently saw a video sent by a family member of mine that showed Caden applying the lessons he learned while making cookies with me. I couldn’t be prouder of him.