Babysitter update

I think I must be coming into a purple patch or something - the God's are most definately smiling on me.
As previously stated, Ashley and I have dilly dallied, ummed and arred, nail nibbled and knee knocked about the very normal, and commonly resorted to practice of hiring a baby sitter.
Recently, as you might have read, we contacted a highly recommended person. We spoke to her on the phone and then arranged for a face to face meeting. She sounded great; practically over qualified for the job; mature and experienced, and as I have already mentioned, only lived on the next street. For a couple of nervous baby sitting late-bloomers, what more could we really ask for? Could the prospects get any better? Well, it could and it did!
It was Alex's first day back at pre-school last week, and we were all told the sad news that one of the much loved teachers from the previous year would not be returning, due to the sudden passing of her father, and her decision to resign and take care of her ailing mother. The kids will surely miss Mrs Hanley. She was such a gentle and patient woman, but would you believe, Mrs Hanley's replacement turned out to be, none other than Amy - the baby sitter, whom we were to meet that evening. It was crazy...almost too good to be true. I wondered how Alex would take it...you know, his teacher being his baby sitter and all, but he didn't seem to mind. In fact, I think he felt kind of special!
The kids were absolutely fine with Amy, even Olivia. She did follow us around before we left, and put her shoes on as we did. To her, it was simply unheard of for us to go out without them, but she was absolutely fine; no tears, no clinginess, not a quivering lip in sight.
Ashley and I got in the car with both ears flapping, waiting to hear screaming and distraught cries for '"Mummy" or "Daddy". But alas, the mood was calm; not a murmer was heard. At that we slammed the doors shut and resisted the urge to screech the tyres in order to make a quick get away, while our consciences remained clear. We cruised down the street and commented that it felt that we had left something behind; our constant companions, our little angels, our sense of security and... a little bit of our control (did I say that last one out loud? whoops).
It is important to live a balanced life. Too much of anything isn't a good thing. We have been putting the kids first for the last four years, which is fine in theory, but not really in reality. It is important to leave some room for yourself, and also some room for your relationship. We were very aware that we were over-due for some quality couple time.
Thursday will be our tenth wedding anniversary and we really wanted to mark the milestone occassion with an appropriate amount of fanfare, and even romance, if we could be bothered. So today, we went on the trail outing, to avoid spending the entire anniversary evening worrying and discussing what the kids might be doing, and how Amy might be coping.
It was a simple outing. We went to Tsawwassen and walked along the dyke wall at Centenniel Beach. I yabbered on and on and on. Poor Ashley could hardly get a word in, but to talk uninterrupted, well .... it was unusual. For the moment, my thoughts were flying freely, no longer like a panicked bird attempting to escape its inadequate cage. It was a lovely day. The week had been rather cold, I had almost given up hope of feeling the sun on my back again this year. I had even considered turning on the dreaded heater, but I did manage to resist. It was lovely to sit on a piece of bleached drift wood and chat with the sun's soul restoring warmth radiating through our light clothing; water gently lapping at our feet and crickets orchestrating in the nearby shrubs and grasses. No plans were made, no great mysteries were solved, no deep dark secrets revealed -we just chatted, like "hi, what have you been up to lately". We simply gave each other our undivided attention. It was nice and an hour passed in what felt like 5 minutes. We then drove back into town, found a cafe and emjoyed a hot chocolate without having to give away the cream and marshmellows on top (ha ha). It was most enjoyable.
The most enjoyable part, and the most surprising part, occured when we arrived home. The dogs were there giving us their usual greeting - yapping their heads off like we were sailors who had returned after two years lost at sea. Alex and Olivia however, were nowhere to be seen.
We took off our shoes, hung up the jackets and keys, and made our way upstairs. There were faint voices coming from Alex's room, the door was wide open. When we arrived, there were Alex, Olivia and Amy playing with Alex's little cars on the carpet. They had heard us come in, but were enjoying themselves so much, they could care less. It was a great first experience, and of course we are kicking ourselves for not having taken the plunge earlier, but then again, the right person AND the right timing is everything.