Juniors Halle Klocke and Vivien Glenski were preparing for the Homecoming dance at Halle’s house — curling their hair and applying makeup — when Halle’s 6-year-old, red-headed neighbor, Cooper Rau, knocked on the door asking to play.
After trying on Halle’s freshman brother, Hudson’s suit, Cooper made his way to say ‘hi’ to the two high school girls.
Because Cooper is Halle’s neighbor, he’ll often appear on the porch swing outside her house wanting to play. When playing with Halle’s two younger brothers who are also red-heads, not only does Cooper idolize them, the three look, and act like triplets.
She’s been his babysitter for the past year and spends nearly every day of the week babysitting for families around her neighborhood. However, she’s developed a close friendship with Cooper beyond driving him to the park and watching movies with him.
Monday through Thursday, Halle picks Cooper up from Corinth Elementary School and babysits him until 5:30 p.m.
Cooper gets a half-hour of TV after school, and the two watch one of Halle's favorite childhood movies: “The Little Mermaid,” “The Lion King,” “Tangled” and, of course, Cooper’s favorite, “Tarzan.”
After this, the activity is up to Cooper. They can go to the park, go on walks, play outside, go to Halle’s house or play checkers.
“He's just an impulsive 6-year-old,” Halle said. “He'll just take off down the street on his bike or something and I’ll chase after him.”
Through absurd questions and dramatic tales of recess, Halle gets a look into the mind of a 6-year-old.
Cooper will ask her questions like, “What's the fastest animal in the world?” or “Do you think an asteroid is coming to Earth?”
As the older sister of two brothers, Halle grew up around boys, which helps her babysit them.
“I don't freak out when boys bring in worms from outside or something, and I'm just kind of like, this is like something my brother would still do,” Halle said.
Halle has been babysitting since sixth grade, having her mom drive her to jobs in middle school. She began babysitting Cooper because his parents work full-time and needed a nanny after school so they contacted Halle to see if she would be interested.
“I ended up just reaching out to Halle, thinking maybe it was a long shot, just because I know she's involved in a lot at school and busy,” Cooper’s mom Linda Rau, said.
When Halle isn’t able to pick him up from school, she’ll let one of her friends know. Vivien will often pick up Cooper from school a couple of days a week and Vivien and Halle will exchange the booster seat in before class in the SM East parking lot.
Linda thinks of Halle as a reliable “old soul” — mature and trustworthy.
“We just feel fortunate to have someone we trust so completely caring for him,” Linda said. “I mean childcare is stressful, just trusting someone who's around your kid that much in general. So there's nothing more reassuring than just knowing your child's in the care of someone who feels safe and familiar.”
Babysitting gives Halle a look into the lives of the elementary-aged kids she takes care of, but they also get a peek into her life. During yearbook deadlines, Halle will bring home proofs — printed pages of the yearbook — to edit, and receive help from Cooper, who will stay up past when his brothers go to bed, looking over pages with her.
One day after school, the week the yearbook was due, Cooper visited SM East for one of Halle’s Hauberk deadlines — and was fed a healthy portion of candy by the yearbook editors.
“They're just fun to hang out with and I can't believe I make money doing this,” Halle said.
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