The two most expensive hours of babysitting in history. II

Since mid October Martin and I are both working full time. It does involve a bit of travelling but we thought we could manage just as long as we would not travel at the same time. Well, we were wrong.

While I was in Prague for a couple of days, three different girls had to come home to give Martin a hand. In two weeks I asked for so many favors to so many different people that helping then in all their future moving will not compensate it. We decided this could not possibly work in long term, and since one of us staying home is not an option, we hired a babysitter.

Last week, though, Martin was in US, my babysitter was in Spain, and I had a meeting in Darmstadt, two hours and a half from home. I can make it, I thought, silly me. I will just leave Daniel in the day care, catch a train and be back basically on time to pick him up. I will only have to arrange a friend to be available in case my train would be delayed. I was wrong. Again.

Since Daniel started in the krippe in February I was never out of town during the day. He was also never so sick that we needed to pick him up. What are the odds this would happen on the same day, and on the same day Martin is in another continent?

Well, it happened. I got the call when I was already more than two hours away from the day care. He vomited and I needed to pick him up. I freaked out. I called everybody in my telephone book and luckily I reached Raquel, who could take care of him until three pm. At this point in time I get to Darmstadt where I was supposed to meet my friend Nacho for a coffee before work. But I still needed to get someone to take care of Daniel from 3 to 5 pm so there was no coffee, there was me panicking and shaking and going one hundred times to the contact list in the telephone.

Lucky, lucky me, Nacho agreed to go to Nuremberg immediately if I could not get anyone else. I could not get anyone else. Everybody was out of town or had appointments right that day and hour. I wonder whom did I caused so much pain in my past life. Nacho writes code for satellites. He does something meaningful with his life and I feel terrible to ask him to go to Nuremberg and be my babysitter while I attend a meeting that will not result on anything put in space, but it is my first meeting in the new job and I'm on the driving seat and there is another nine people coming from all over Germany for it. So I stand corrected, for me it was really important.

So Nacho went to Nuremberg and to Raquel's flat to take care of my baby. This month Raquel shares the flat with a Chilean guy and his mum, who is having hip surgery. During the day time only the mum was home and she was not pleased to see Nacho coming. Fearing to be raped or worse, she called her son and her son called Raquel, and Nacho and my baby were kicked out of the house.

No worries, no more drama. At this point in time I was already close enough to Nuremberg, so I picked up my baby and my friend Nacho from the train station where they were waiting for me, took them home and finally breathed again.

Last Monday, I had a meeting in Bonn. It should all be fine, because his father was coming on time to pick him up, but I knew better. I arranged a back up plan. My dear neighbor would be able to pick up Daniel in case of emergency. Fair enough, 11:30, five minutes to reach Bonn main station I get a call from the day care. Daniel vomited and I needed to pick him up.