the great leslie

I'm babysitting in Brooklyn right now, for the 4-month-old daughter of a woman I've known for over 20 years, long before either of us were even tweens. This is the first time she and her husband have left their daughter in the care of a non-family member. Their reference for me is that Liz and I babysat as a pair when we were in the 5th and 6th grades. We had a little babysitter's club. We put signs up in the library; I remember trying to mimic the block lettering on the covers of the Baby-sitter's Club series, circa 1987-88. Now, she is grown-up enough to have a little kiddo of her own, and to ask me to watch her for a few hours while she is on a date with her husband.