Two weeks ago I found out a friend of mine had made the connection and L.A. Daddy and I were going to the BCS National Championship Game! You don’t grow up in a small town in Ohio and not LOVE football - especially high school and college football - and especially the OHIO STATE BUCKEYES! So this was more than welcome news. What wasn’t such welcome news was the fact that we had to find something to do with L.A. Toddler while we went to the game. But what? We don’t have any family here in L.A. (lots of good friends though.) Also lots of great teachers at her daycare who she’d love to have sit for her. These two options seemed like our only options but neither panned out.

We were down to 6 days before the game and I was freaking out. Then my super-fabulous travel agent, who I’ve become friends with having worked together for 7 years, said, “What about the hotel you’re staying at in Phoenix? They probably have a recommendation.” Ding, Ding, Ding! Right Answer! What a fabulous idea!

The concierge at the hotel was ecstatic that I’d asked as one of her best friends is one of the sitters they use / recommend for their guests. I got her number and left a message on her voice mail. We played v-mail tag for the next 3 days. We exchanged details about LA Toddler’s age, favorite foods, toys, interests; the babysitter’s experience, hourly rate, and other IMPORTANT facts: she was background-checked and CPR certified. She even gave me the number on her letter (neither of us knew what this actually was - file number maybe?) Anyway… suddenly it was 3 days before the game and I hadn’t actually talked to her!

This is where my freak-out started. Suddenly all my friends, family and daycare teachers were curious who I was leaving my child with. And rightly so. I mean, what did (didn’t) I know about her? What if the concierge at the hotel was her kidnapper-cohort sister?

And how could I actually verify that she - the person who I was going to leave my child with for 6+ hours - in a strange city - was the person who was listed on the background clearance letter? It’s not like there’s a picture on those letters! And she’d told me that she was from a big family but that she wasn’t able to have children of her own. Oh, God! The more I think about this the more it sounds like I should be hocking the tickets (and making $3000!)

So, I called the Phoenix Police Department. They were very nice. Described what the letter should look like, that it should be an original, bearing the city’s seal, etc. They even verified that the mystery number on the clearance letter was an officer’s badge number. OK… this made me feel a little better.

That evening the sitter called me - I FINALLY talked to her. She was very sweet - gave me her life story in 10 minutes. She could tell I was very nervous and gave me two references to call. This, too, made me feel better. I called the first reference as soon as we hung up. Of course, I had to leave a message.

Now it’s 2 days before the game. The reference called me back and gave an absolutely glowing recommendation without any prompting from me - just sort of babbled on about how great the sitter is and how much her children love her. This made me feel much better. She added that she, too, was very nervous to leave her first child with a sitter (a stranger) but that she’d learned that having to trust someone else and doing something for yourself was a very good thing. It made her a better mother, better wife and better woman. I knew she was right.

So it’s game day. L.A. Toddler was so tolerant and just absolutely excited about our trip to “‘Zona.” Remember how excited you were as a kid to stay in a hotel and swim in the hotel pool? Nevermind seeing any sights, or whatever was the theme of your vacation. It was the same for LA Toddler. The glass elevator to our 20th floor room with a view of the city and a construction site complete with 2 working cranes totally did it for her. Then the sitter arrived. She couldn’t have been more wonderful. She showed me all her certifications and clearances, driver’s license, and asked a zillion questions about bedtimes, what to have for dinner, bedtime routine, etc. LA Toddler took to her instantly - showing her toys, books and the fabulous view. There’s nothing better than the gut instinct trust of a child. I knew she was going to be fine - and would most likely have a great time that night.

And she did. After returning from the slaughter game and finding LA Toddler fast asleep in bed and the sitter contently reading a novel with a clip-on book light, I KNEW that this whole experience had made me a better mother, wife and woman. Thank you, Reyna!