Way Back When Vol. 1: The Baby-Sitters Club

I have another depressing, melancholic post coming up. However, I thought I would break up the regular boring posts of toddler adventures and my Mrs. Poopie Pants feelings and do something fun.

I'm going to start another series. My last series of Wondering Wednesdays hasn't gone quite how I wanted it, considering the last time I wrote a Wondering Wednesday post was nearly a year ago. This new series isn't quite as serious or thought provoking. It's going to be fun.

Every other week (or each week if I'm feeling up to it) I'm going to write a Way Back When post. I might even make it Way Back When Wednesday's, but I'm not going to get too ambitious. (I just now realized it is Thursday. D'OH!) In these posts I'm going to pick something from my childhood or teen years that is a special memory. Some of these you might remember. Some of these only people from my hometown or my family will understand. (Look for a post on 10th Street restaurant.)

But I thought it would be fun to write about something that doesn't emotionally drain me. It may bore you, my lovely readers, but maybe not. Maybe it will inspire you to think back on those happy days way back then.

My first Way Back When post will be about one of my favorite book series growing up: The Baby-Sitters Club


I was probably around nine years old when I started reading this series. My mom bought me the first few books and I was instantly hooked. Kristy, Claudia, Mary Anne and Stacy were like the big sisters I never had. Their stories were so interesting. Each character was so different.

My favorite character was probably the quiet and shy Mary Anne. She wasn't as crazy and obnoxious as the other characters. I did however go through a very strange Claudia stage. Claudia Kishi was very artistic, wore funky clothes and made her own jewelry. I specifically remember designing my own outfit. It was jean shorts with knee length biker shorts underneath and some old Hard Rock Cafe t-shirt that was too big so I used a scrunchie to bunch up the extra material to make a sort of tail thingy on my hip. I also made my own necklace with some weird beads made out of paper. That was a totally awesome look, let me tell ya. The worst part of it... I wore it to a family reunion... so there is photographic evidence of my totally awesome look. Oh well, something to laugh about now!

Of course reading all these books about babysitting made me want to start my very own baby-sitters club. When I was about 11 years old, I got my cousin and best friend to join with me in this new exciting business endeavor! I was to be president (I was such a Kristy...) and we called it Kids Inc. The most exciting part- we had FLYERS. Not flyers we made ourselves, no, no, these were made on a COMPUTER! I think my mom used some old ancient print program with the wicked cool graphics and she printed it on the paper where you had to tear off the sides (is it called dot matrix paper?) Oh my goodness... it was top notch! We were going to be gazillionaires! But, according to my diary, my best friend's dad wouldn't let her be in the club unless she took a baby-sitting class first, which wasn't offered anywhere near our hometown. I'm not sure why I didn't continue my grand idea with my cousin. We were probably in a fight. We were like sisters and fought all the time. Alas, my dreams of changing the course of babysitting in my hometown were dashed. I did eventually get over it.

Then of course there were the BSC VHS tapes I had of the TV series and I just HAD to go see the movie in theaters in 1995! I remember at the back of each BSC book there was a tear-out order form to be a part of the fan club. I think you got a pink watch and some other cool stuff. There was also an order form for the dolls. I always wanted to send these order forms out, but never did. I did have some of the special merchandise- the Secret Santa BSC book, the Guide to Babysitting book and the Post Card BSC book. But my most treasured item of all? The autographed picture of the author of The Baby-Sitters Club, Ann M. Martin. I had written her a letter and to my delight she wrote me back. My eleven-year-old self was over the moon!

I think the real reason I loved this series so much was because the girls of the books were stepping into their teen years, and I was just a few years from that milestone. I couldn't wait to become a teenager. I couldn't wait for lockers and dances and notes from your crush passed in the hallway. I was excited for the days of getting more responsibility and more freedom. Eleven years old is a strange time. I was still very much a child, but wanted so badly to be an adult. I don't think the term "tween" was around back then. The girls of The Baby-Sitters Club gave me something to look forward to, something to yearn for.

I still have some of my copies of the BSC. Sadly, I never read them all. I outgrew them before I had a chance to finish the series. I think the last one I remember reading was #100 Kristy's Worst Idea. I see the last one was #131 The Fire at Mary Anne's House (uh, WHAT?!!)

To end this post I present you a clip from The Baby-Sitters Club TV show episode of Dawn Saves the Trees. And yes, that is Zach Braff from Scrubs. Excellent!





What were some of your favorite book series growing up?