Not At Service, Not At Your Service

(I take my small daughters to the little daycare in our church so that we can attend the Sunday service in peace. This daycare is run by church volunteers who are supposed to be there every Sunday, but they often decide to not show up, leaving parents like us stranded.)

Me: *looking around the daycare, seeing nobody* “Oh, man, no caregivers again.”

(Just then, another mother enters the daycare and hands her small child to me.)

Woman: “Here you go. I’ll be back after the service.” *turns to leave*

Me: “Um, wait a second. I’m not the volunteer. I’m a parent like you, and I was just about to leave, because the volunteer isn’t here.”

Woman: “Well, you can still look after my son, can’t you?”

Me: “No…?”

Woman: “Sure you can!” *leaves before I can stop her*

(I had no choice but to stay and look after her child as well as my own daughters for the entire service. Not only that, but she had left nothing for her son – no snack, no toys, nothing – so when he started to cry, I had no idea what to give him. That was a very long 1.5 hours!)