My guard goes up and I want to shout "Don't touch my help!"

I owe another mom an e-mail.  This was a mom that helped me with the teacher appreciation breakfast and her son is a friend of Rachel's.  After squaring away costs of the breakfast and pleasant banter, she asked about one of my sitters that we both know.  She just wants to know how often we have her watch the girls.  Immediately I want to stop this conversation.  My guard goes up and I want to shout "Don't touch my help!"

The whole sitter situation is a delicate balance of making sure they are responsible and reliable while your kids like them.  Getting to this point is so hard and I won't let anyone mess with it.

The process of getting someone good starts with various resources like school listings, referrals, etc.  We met our most tenured sitter from Craig's List.  At the time, this didn't sound skeevy.  But since you can look for an internal organ, prostitutes or drugs on CL, we probably won't use that as a source anymore.

Before question one, the test is on...we had one candidate show up 45 minutes early.  Not a good sign--highlights a schedule of hers rather than ours.  She was out.  But some don't even show up for the interview.  Candidates that slip mild profanity...nope, you're out too.

Once a decision is made, there is always a silent prayer that this was the right choice.  As you are going through a routine, showing them through my house I am silently talking to myself:
Please don't use my make-up because this has happened to me.
Please don't have a psycho boyfriend that will vandalize our car because this has happened to my family.
Please don't make this psycho boyfriend have a criminal and drug related past so we don't have to call the cops when he shows up..yes, this too.  (She's no Mary Poppins-Part 1 and 2.  3/10/12 and 3/11/12)
And please let me like you.  If you annoy the piss out of me as soon as I walk into the door and I just want you to leave, it's probably not going to work out.

Having good childcare is such a blessing and if there is seldom a problem, it is taken for granted.  I don't want my situation sullied.  I also don't want to do the work and find a good candidate just to have someone casually work their kid into the sitter's schedule too.  And what if the sitter likes the other family more than mine.  What if their kids are better behaved or, at least, potty trained.

Regardless...I am being rude.  I owe that mom an e-mail.  (Besides, I will run into her at a birthday party on Saturday.)