You Can Hire Me

So the ultrasound results are in. Yes, its already the half way mark of SisterLaw’s pregnancy and today she and SpikyMan went to have the big ultrasound in which generally the doctors want to know the size and measurements of every internal organ in the body of the unborn child and generally the parents want to know what the sex of their child is.

It’s a girl.

It just about ripped my heart out. Until this point I've been so sure it was a boy and I could cope with my jealousy, because, well truthfully, I would love another daughter. And boys run strongly in SpikyMan’s family. We were all so sure it was going to be a boy, but it’s a girl. SisterLaw and SpikyMan are having a daughter. I did cry when The Matriarch mouthed the words “It’s a girl” and pointed to Sweetpea. I was so shocked. I was sure it was a boy.

But that wasn’t the last of the big news events for my sister today. Oh no.

My sister was offered a new job today and starts for a bigger law firm that came and head hunted her in four weeks time.

“What are you going to do with the baby? How long will you have for maternity leave?” I asked.

“Well the company has several mothers who work part time and they are more than happy for me to do the same.”

“Yes, but how long will you get with your baby?”

“Oh about four or five months. I guess I will have to look into childcare centres.”

“Oh no.” I replied, because, what else can you say in that situation?

I could hear a small quiver of sadness in her voice, but much like her, I understood that this company had made an incredible offer that really, wouldn’t come up again and she had to grab it with both hands. We talked about childcare for a few more minutes and I was sure of her hesitation about putting her child into care.

“You can hire me.” The words tumbled out of my mouth before I allowed my self-censoring to stop them.

“What?”

“You can hire me. You can hire me,” pause, “you can hire me.”

I cant even begin to tell you the courage that took to say, even though at first I said it in jest. Because with SpikyMan being a bit of a control freak, generally anything I suggest to SisterLaw is rejected by him and my offers to help with almost anything are rebuffed. But I forget that even though this child is only 20 weeks old, SisterLaw has already turned into a Mama Bear and a Wild Tiger ready to protect her young from any threat – even the threat of disapproval from a control freak.

“You can hire me. I could do with the extra money and you know that I would look after your daughter the same way that I look after Sweetpea, and you cant ever really be sure that in a child care centre they can give the one to one time that I could give her. And maybe on the days you don't work, you could look after Sweetpea and I could work a couple of days teaching. You could hire me.”

“Can I admit that I wanted to ask you that desperately, but I didn’t want to cross the line and I didn’t know when the right time would be to ask if you would look after my baby?”

“You can hire me.”

Of course, it’s a long way until April next year, so time will tell if this works out, but there it is. I have a niece.