Babysitting a Sibling

“Who? Me?!” I asked, stunned.

“Yes, you. You’re ten. Old enough to babysit your brother for two hours.” Mum said.

“But… But… I’ve never done it before!” I fumbled for words.

“There is always a first time.” She smiled.

“But… What am I supposed to do with him?” I asked, with apprehension.

“Nothing much, actually. I’ll feed him and put him down for a nap just before I leave for my meeting.

Hopefully he will stay sleeping for the two hours that I’m away.”

“What if he wakes up? What if he cries?”

“He won’t.”

“What if he does?”

“Well, entertain him. Play with him. Alright?”

I nodded reluctantly. My baby brother Oscar was 11 months old. It wasn’t like I could play Lego with him. Besides, Mum had warned me to keep all small toys away because Oscar tend to put everything in his mouth.

Finally, D-day came. I was filled with dread as Mum left. Oscar was napping peacefully in his cot. At first, I sat next to his cot and stared at him. Then it got really boring, so I pulled out a comic book and started reading. I reached a funny part and burst out laughing. Oscar moved. My heart was

pounding. “Don’t wake up, please don’t wake up.” I muttered under my breath. He turned over and went back to sleep. I heaved a sigh of relief and decided that reading a comic book was a very bad idea. I needed something serious. So I decided to do my homework. Homework is serious business. Nothing to laugh about.

The moment I wrote the first word of my homework, I jumped! What was that sound? It was loud and it was coming from the ceiling. Gosh, the neighbours must be vacuuming! I tried to cover Oscar’s ears with my palms, but it was too late. He had woken up, crying. Goodness, what was I to do?

He had pulled himself up using the bars of his cot and was looking at me,

wailing loudly. I started shouting, “Oh Oscar! What do I do?” As if answering me, he raised both his arms up. I reached over and picked him up. He stopped crying. Phew! But I didn’t know what to do with him. I just held him up in mid-air. He seemed to enjoy that. So I pretended that he was an aeroplane and made him fly around the room. He started chuckling.

Soon, the vacuuming had stopped and my arms were aching too. I decided to put him back in his cot. The moment his feet touched the cot, he immediately started bawling again. Feeling agitated, i decided to get him out once more. I sat on the floor next to his cot, holding him by the hands and he started bouncing up and down.

It was a very funny sight and both of us burst out laughing.

Suddenly, he let go of one of my hands. He was still standing, supported by my left hand. “Look at you! All ready to let go, huh?” I asked. And just like that, he let go of my other hand. I looked at him, totally stunned. He had never stood on his own before. He wobbled for a few seconds and started toppling towards me. I scooped him up and said. “I’m so proud of you, Oscar! We’ll show Mum when she comes back, okay?” He grinned.

Fifteen minutes later, Mum was back.

“So? How bad was it?” She asked as I opened the door, holding Oscar.

“Actually… Not as bad as I thought,” I said, looking at Oscar. “Very good, in fact. Wasn’t it, Oscar?”

“Really?” Mum asked.

“Yes! Guess what happened? Oscar stood on his own! Without any support! For almost ten seconds!”

“Wow! Are you serious? He’s never done that before!” She exclaimed.

“I know! It was awesome! And I was the only one present to witness it.” I said, proudly.

Mum turned to Oscar and tickled his chin.

“Well done, both of you! I think I’m going to leave you together more often then.” She grinned mischievously.

Actually, I don’t think I’d mind that at all.

Neither would Oscar, I think.