The Interview

I've been looking for a babysitter for Theo--someone who can pick him up from school three days a week and keep him for a couple hours while Sam naps and I work. Today, we went to meet a woman who is interested in doing it. I was all prepared to ask her some questions, but as it turns out, Theo had it covered. When we got to her house, I said to him, "Okay, Liz might pick you up from school and watch you a couple days a week. So we're here to see whether you like her and you think you want to play at her house with her kids. They're sleeping right now, so you just need to keep your voice quiet. You can talk to Liz, but you need to do it in a quiet voice."

Mr. Loud Voice did indeed manage to keep his voice down, and given that he's very social, I knew he'd want to talk a bit to her. But I wasn't expecting a full-on interview! Before I could even get a word in edgewise, he had interrogated her:

"What's your name?"

"Where are your kids?"

"What are your kids' names?"

"How old are your kids?"

"Why are they sleeping?"

"They're sick? What's their temperature?"

"What temperature is it in here?" 

"Do you have any pets? Where are they?"

"Your cats are outside? Why aren't they inside?"

"Are they hot outside?"

"They found the shade? Where did they find shade?"

"What time do your kids wake up?"

"Where is their bedroom? How many bedrooms do you have in this house?"

I'm not kidding. And there were more questions than that--those are just the only ones I can remember. Liz wore the same expression that many adults who meet Theo wear: puzzled amusement. She answered all of his questions, and they had quite the nice chat.

The funny thing is, she has so many toys (she has twin boys and watches a couple of other kids on occasion), and Theo had very little interest in playing with them. Instead, he just wanted to interrogate Liz. This shouldn't surprise me, though--he really is like a little old man sometimes.