Poll #7

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Poll #7

Would You Rather...

Babysit an acquaintances children?
Drive a Raccoon out of your chimney?

The much anticipated results are out for Poll #7. Surprisingly, all those in our test group preferred to deal with a trapped raccoon than babysit for an acquaintance. This is probably because, in general, babysitting is viewed as unpleasant. This unpleasantness seems to be proportional to the babysitter's relationship with the child's parents. Babysitting for a casual friend is tolerable; Babysitting for a close friend is a sacrifice most are happy to make; Babysitting for family is just part of the deal and can even be enjoyable. But babysitting for a mere acquaintance is viewed as torture. That is why there are girls between the ages of 12 and 18. They, at least, can expect to be paid for their trouble. It is often safe to assume that when a mature individual is asked to babysit for someone, not only should they not expect to be paid for it, if money IS offered, it would be wrong to accept it.

Oddly enough, this all directly correlates to Tupperware parties. A young lady might be happy to go to a Mary Kay party thrown by a sister, and won't mind going to one given by a close friend etc., but when someone she's not said more than 5 words to starts inviting her to candle parties, she will likely be annoyed.

If any of you fall into the group that feels this way, don't worry; you are not alone. And don't give up on yourself. You can overcome these feelings and be the kind and giving person you have always wanted to be. Just take it slow and don't expect yourself to change overnight. And the next time you are asked to babysit, and it just seems like more than you can bear, instead of coming up with an excuse, maybe you can ask them if they have a rabid squirrel stuck in their attic that they would let you try to catch with your bare hands instead.