The Return Of Kiki

Aug 23, 2010 by winjaw

Kiki dropped by last night.

That’s not her real name, that would be Courtney. But the eldest Son of Thunder could never pronounce that, so Kiki she became.  Little did we know the hidden talents Kiki possessed, nor the impact she would have on our lives.

We had not seen her for more than eight years, but when she popped in, well, it just seemed like old times.

We always reminded the Son of Thunder we got him the prettiest girl in town.

Kiki was the babysitter and guardian of the eldest and later middle Sons of Thunder.   

When we first moved to that Midwestern town, we knew no one;  not a single person other than those I worked with.  Eldest Thunder Son was almost three; middle Thunder Son was about a month away from joining us. And the Little Black Dress was pretty lonely.  As I recall, I asked around at work about a babysitter so The Dress and I might actually have some alone time.

One co-worker, obviously sensing my desperation, reluctantly offered a name. But it was clear in his tone that this was his babysitter and not to try to encroach – the offer was a one-time deal in his eyes.

And after our first meeting with Kiki, as she would forever be known, we pretty much flat-out stole her away from everyone else.

Among the myriad of talents was the ability to transform our entire house into one gigantic Thomas the Choo-Choo Island of Sodor enchantment. The. Entire. House. I would come home and train tracks would run from upstairs to downstairs and through the kitchen and off the living room and up and down. It was like a maze.

And eldest Thunder Son is sitting there grinning and saying “wook, daddy, wook” as he followed Thomas pulling about 137 of his friends.  I do not exaggerate the amount of track and trains involved, because I pretty much spent my entire disposable income on said toys.

Kiki is grown up, more beautiful than ever, when she stopped by last night.  And she even spent time in the Marine Corp.
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“Marines!!!! You were in the Marines!!???? Did you shoot a gun??!! Can you use a knife!!??? Have you ever killed anyone??!! What about a grenade??!! Did you wear a uniform??!!!! Did you drive a tank????!!! Did you get one of those swords??!!!”

And so on and so on for about ten minutes. Needless to say, the Sons of Thunder were quite impressed. I finally had to say enough.

On to the next subject – she is studying to be a physician’s assistant. Unfortunately, she let slip she works on cadavers.

“What’s a cadaver??!!!! A body???!!! Are they dead???!!! Gross!!!! Cool!!!!!!!!! Do you use a knife??!!! Do they feel anything??!!!! What’s their name??!!!!Do you cut up off their arms???!!!!! How old are they????

As it was dinner time, we put an end to that conversation as well.  But the Sons were in, as usual, rare form. That in itself seems to indicate that their rare form is rather, well, normal form. Anyway, they continued with a hundred million other questions and showed off lots of toys they created and new ninja moves and computer games and …

If I didn’t know better, I’d say the Sons were flirting with their old babysitter.

Over the years, we’ve been blessed with a myriad of babysitters who rank in the Hall of Fame. I will have to write sometime about those in Alaska, because they were an awesome bunch. But for that two-year stretch, Kiki was our one and only. She entertained the Sons, she played with the Sons, she educated the Sons, and most importantly, she guarded the Sons. She is the cliché of the mama bear, and I mean that in all gratitude.

Once, The Dress and I had to attend a big family wedding in California. Kiki, her mom and sisters moved in and took care of our four-year-old and one-year-old as if it was nothing. People like that are rare.

She was there at a time when we really needed her. She was our Sam.

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