I kidnapped a kid…sort of…

So, on Monday night, I sent two of my girls over to my brother’s house to stay with his children over night while he and his wife were at the hospital with my nephew. He and his wife have 5 children: 4 girls and a boy (the new baby makes 2 boys for them). Sis-in-law’s mom had come to stay and brought 2 of her grandkids she is raising (kid’s cousins) with her, making 7 kids. About an hour after I dropped them off, they called, in tears, saying that the kids were being too naughty and trying to run away and that they couldn’t stay anymore and babysit.

I was mad. Mad at my girls, and mad at the kids who were hassling them. I am all about the safety and happiness of children, however, and immediately realized that I would need to be the one to go stay with the kids. I jumped into my van and drove over to Brother’s house.

I ran into that house where children (7, you’ll recall) were running amok and screaming. I began by catching them one at a time and telling them to put on shoes and go out to the van. I ran through the house, making sure they were all in the van, then hurried out to the van. I drove to my house, sent my girls in and had them get my stuff to spend a night (hello, phone charger and pepsi refill vat!). I drove through a pepsi refill drive-thru and continued on to Brother’s house. Once there, I told the kids that they had lost their fun teen babysitters and now they had me, and I like clean houses, and we were going to clean the house for their mom and dad. I assigned everyone a room and a job and in no time, the house was ship-shape.

At this point, a girl (about 10, I’m guessing) approached me, “um…Aunt Maren? Can I go home now?
Me: What? Why? (suspicious) What’s your name? (I was thinking this is a cousin and she is homesick.)
She: jane. (not her real name…I don’t remember her name….I think it started with an ‘m’)
Me: Who are you?
She: Neighbor friend.
Me: Where do you live?
She: A few blocks that way (she’s pointing)

So, I’m thinking, I just made a neighbor kid get in my van, drove her all over my town, and made her do chores!
I’m shocked…but confused…

Me: Why didn’t you say you weren’t one of these kids?
She: I don’t know, you seemed like fun.

Fun? FUN?? I just yelled at everyone and made kids clean the entire house! What must her home life be like?

Me: Go home.
She: Aunt Maren?
Me: (thinking, why is she calling me Aunt??) yes?
She: Can you give me a ride?

Later I confessed all to my brother.
Bro: You made her do chores?
Me: yes. she cleaned the playroom.
Bro: Good, makes up for the $5 she took last week.

ok, then.

Note to self: Make a roll. Count kids. Assume nothing.

p.s. The new baby is home from hospital now, still on oxygen and a couple of meds, but we are so happy he is home with his family. What a blessing!