Someone trusted me to look after her child

I didn't have to submit to anything, no background checks, no credit reports.

I've had kids sleep at my house before, but usually with the parents very nearby, like mostly Aimee passed out on the bathroom floor (HA HA JUST KIDDING SWEETIE, you always make it to the futon) or visiting out-of-towners and I clashing at my dad's house.

But never have I had the courage to ask another parent to relinquish their child to my care for a night.

While I'm quick to let Zoe go to any modestly humane family who is willing, I am not so trusting of my ability to keep another child in check whose idiosyncrasies I know little about.

But Zoe caught me off guard, I let her make the call to her BFF, and we made the leap into the "we accept overnighters" zone. It's tit for tat. (Hehe, I said TAT.)

When her mom dropped her off, Elsie was in full gear. Mom and I discussed all the basics, including What Not To Serve The Child and various other things I needed to know to keep the kid alive. Then it got to the point where we needed to talk about when the child would be turned back over to her parents.

Elsie's mom asked if it would be OK if she and her extended family attended church in the morning before picking her up... citing various reasons including my favorite: It would be too much to get out of bed a little earlier than normal to come get her. Which, in sirschy-speak, translates into: I, personally, don't have to get my ass up early and get someone else's child ready for church.

Good deal.

But then, like a lightening bolt from out of the blue, Elsie's mom offers: "Well, if YOU take her to church...."

As in, she's OK with her going to church, and here's where I have to break it to her....

"Oh, we don't do church."

And I quickly came back with a most witty remark that I have too much going on to make it to church... on any given Sunday.... UGH.

It just came out, just like that, and then this poor woman was probably thinking, what have I done, leaving my kid in this unholy house.