Adventures in Babysitting

        Today, I babysat several kids for my once-a-month volunteer work at Vision House, a non-profit organization for homeless single moms and their kids.

         At one point, fairly early on, one of the kids suddenly stood up with an expression of mild shock on his face, and said "Where's my mommy?" Since this is both a common occurrence and something that can easily escalate into a river of tears and mucus, I decided to put a stop to it. "Here's your mommy," I told him, holding up a little plastic muffin.

        To my surprise, he took it, saying happily to himself, "It's my mommy!" This cheered me considerably. I wish all toddlers could be pacified with plastic muffins. The world would be a quieter place.