No More Katrina.

So the very first question you are asking is, "Who is Katrina?" and the next is, "What happened?". I know, I am pretty smart. ☺ Well, Katrina is my niece and no, she didn't die. She is . . . well, was our babysitter. And, I can assure you, you have never met a better babysitter than her. She was amazing. Seriously. First of all, she took care of all 5 of my kids. All of them. That is no easy task. Not that my kids are misbehaved. They aren't. They are actually very good kids, so she tells me. But, 5 kids aged 6 and under is no easy thing. It tires me out sometimes and she is barely 17. So, not only would she watch the kids, but almost always, my house was sooooooo much cleaner after she was there. She watched the kids and cleaned the house and washed the dishes. And fed them supper. And put them to bed. All with a smile on her face. A beautiful girl, that one. Inside and out. And the kicker? Every once in a while, after the evening was over and we were forking over our money (we like to think we paid her well - only she knows for sure!), she would say, "Nope, not tonight. This one is on me!" Seriously??? Have you ever met a teenager who would babysit for free? 5 kids for FREE? She would. Not all the time, just every once in an unexpected while. Oh, I could hug her. And I usually did. It was her way of blessing us. Like her watching the kids wasn't enough of a blessing for me! What an absolute gem. Alas, she is growing up and getting too busy. Or so she says. Maybe my kids really are terrible!! I like to think she is honest and her schedule is just too full. Such a sad day for me, when she said she was done babysitting. Now to find someone new. Someone capable. Someone my kids will like. All a little stressful for me. After all, dear Katrina set the bar so high! Maybe Jay and I just won't go out on dates. Or we could use Grandma just a bit more. Whatever the case, when my girls get old enough (which seems like light-years away when reality is it will be here before I know it!) to babysit, I will make sure they bless others just as Katrina blessed us. It was a good 4 years. But, I guess all good things must come to an end! Thank you, Katrina, for being so wonderful, so loved by our family! You really are a wonderful girl! And if you ever need any money, just come on down and kick us out. We'd be glad to go!