Weird Responsibility

I had many a flashback tonight to my teenage years and being left alone on a Friday night in someone else's house with the responsibility of their child, a handful of ideas for of activities, a list of do's and don'ts, a perspective bedtime, money on the table to order pizza, the in-case-of-emergency plan, all the necessary tools to occupy and keep alive someone else's pride and joy handed over to the careful, responsible, loving hands of... the babysitter.  Although -- tonight, I was the one handing over the toolbelt - not the one receiving.  And it wasn't the tools to sit for a "baby" per se, but for my father.  However, the whole operation was identical - all the way up to the conversation with the babysitter (a.k.a Caretaker Chris in my story) at the end of the evening: "how'd he do?"  "did he eat all his dinner?"  "what'd you guys watch on TV?"  "What time did he go to bed?"  "was there any crying?"  Once again I find myself being the responsible adult in the house at too young of an age and too tragic the circumstances.  My Mom is away in San Diego on a mini business trip for this one night, and meantime, Wednesdays are my night for Improv Class in Hollywood -- a three and half hour welcomed, frivolous, fun escape -- except every 20 minutes throughout the evening my mind wandered back to whatever might be happening at home.  Perhaps it's my own neurotic need to be in control of the situation that made the evening stressful and strange.  But maybe I should just chalk it up to another new phase in this whole new saga of life - the phase of "the Caretaker."  Inviting someone into our lives, accepting and TRUSTING their skills, their personality, and their companionship, to be a presence in our family and a support system for our lives.  It's something that will take some time getting used to, for all parties involved, but hopefully something that can lend more support than stress.  As with everything in this new life we lead -- it's all about time.   And hopefully in the coming weeks, we can bridge the gap from "babysitter" to "buddy."