The autistic boy that I watch has begun biting me to try to get his way. His mother isn't being much help by just saying that I have to try to keep my hands and arms away from his mouth when he's upset. I'm starting to get bruises on my hands from where he bites me. I pride myself in being pretty patient with him, but this is really getting to me because it really hurts.

I don't know how to get him to stop, though. Sara suggested some hot sauce dilluted in water or no-bite but I feel bad about employing one of those methods because I'm not sure he'll understand and it might just make him more upset. It's hard to calm him down once he works himself up.

Time for some innovation.

Well, I officially met the neighbors at the place where I babysit. It was a perfectly normal day and I was cleaning up the kitchen which seems to be perpetually messy no matter what how much I clean. And this woman who I had seen a few times next door comes over carrying her baby in one of those carseats that transforms to a carrier. She wanted to know if I could watch her kid for a little while.

This was enough to get a raised eyebrow from me and I tried to politely say no by noting that the parents of my charges might not be happy about me caring for other kids on their dime. But then I had Sara wanting to spend time with the baby, plus this mother, so I said that it would be okay for a minute. Not knowing, of course, that she wanted the kid there so she could throw a truly epic fit with her husband because a few minutes later she's out by a car in her driveway screaming, repeatedly and at the top of her lungs, "You're not leaving me with your kid!" Well, it seemed to be futile, because he took off.

So I ask Sara if she can watch her brother for a second while I take the woman back her child and go over there, subsequently being cornered and told this woman's life story. And as much as  I might tease her for her craziness, I have to say that I felt really sorry for her. She has school-age children, this baby, and thinks she might be pregnant again. Her husband makes her ask her parents for money for groceries and other household items despite having a paying job and she didn't even have any diapers when I was there for the baby. It was really sad; I can't imagine how scared she must be. I hope everything works out okay for her.

And to be fair, I'm not being mean in calling her crazy. My mother used to get pretty crazy over the men in her life, too, including public scenes like the one that I described. Though I'm informed I was never left with a complete stranger as a baby while she went to make her scene. Still, I was concerned for a minute that she wasn't going to take the baby back. That would have been complicated.

Title: A Married Woman
Chapter: 1/4
Rating: PG
Summary: Andromeda and Bellatrix return from their second and third year at Hogwarts to discover that a devastating shift of power has occurred in the Black family and their parents are now poor and desolate. There is only one thing that can be done; they must find husbands.

 

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