adventures in babysitting

Since last night was Thursday, I was babysitting so Sean and Kathy could have their date night. I like Thursday nights with the kids, we always have fun. Last night I took the kids and three of their friends (a total of 7 kids) to the river. The friends are 12, 14, and 16 I think so it wasn't bad at all. When we left the river storm clouds were coming in and it was starting to lightning a little bit when we dropped the friends off. We got back to the house around 8:30 and I was suprised to see that Sean and Kathy were back already. As the kids reluctantly started their chores, it started pouring. It was a wonderful summer evening thunderstorm. Lots of rain and thunder and lightning. Around 9:00 there was lightning, a loud clap of thunder, and then no electricity. The kids didn't freak out, to my suprise. I had been in the bathroom with Maggie while she brushed her teeth, so I was leading her back to the living room. Emily came out of her room with a battery operated desk light and we all convened in the living room. Kathy pulled out candles and lit one for every child. Emily took her candle to her room, Kathy went and laid back down (headache) and Sean, the kids, and I went on the front porch to look at lightning. It was very impressive. The storm was right on top of us and a couple of lightning bolts made it look like daylight outside. I tried to explain to Maggie that the noise of the thunder was just the clouds expanding really fast and that it couldn't hurt her (why do I give scientific explanations to 4 year olds?) but she was still scared. The kids wanted to go in so we all filed in off the front porch. The kids put their candles on the coffee table in the front room and Sean fixed them a snack. Emily rejoined us because her candle had gone out. After that, he read a chapter out of The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe by CS Lewis. The power still wasn't on so Sean told the kids that they could camp out in the front room and quietly tell stories until the power came back on. We sat and chatted for a little bit then Abby wanted to tell a story. It was pretty bizarre and drawn out, but of course hilarious. Toward the end of her story, the power came back on. She was disappointed and wanted to finish her story in the candlelight so she turned the light off. After she finished the story the kids made quite a production of blowing out the candles. Then they were off to bed and I went to my room to watch tv and go to bed. It was a few minutes before 10 when the lights came back on. The power had only been off for an hour, but it had seemed like much longer. I enjoyed sitting in the living room with the family and enjoying the storm, the lack of electricity, and the company. I was glad that Sean and Kathy were home because I'm not sure I could have successfully kept the kids entertained. Plus, it is more comforting for kids to have their parents home, safe, and keeping them safe during a storm. Thanks for the fun evening family.