Daycare

A provide who cares during the day for our children. Ask yourself. Will this provider change a poopie diaper as soon as it happens? Or on schedule every two hours because they have five other kids to change before yours. Does your child get held when he cries, or screams? What does provide mean? What do we want our children to know. Are they too young to realize what is happening to them?

When I was on my slam forward life in college getting my degree, pursuing all my high-anxiety dreams, my now husband came along like a smack in the face. It felt like that those long nights talking over coffee in Denny's. I shed so many tears, more like layers, of my cultured life.

I was telling him in my head he was a male chauvanist pig. Where did he get off telling me I would stay at home if we were to have children. What about my career? Did it not matter who I was?

He explained if you can, wouldn't you want to share in all these new things that your little baby is doing? Wouldn't you want to be there to take care of them when they are sick. Be ok to stay up with them through the night?

So here I am. Three years later, married, with an almost 2 year old son. I'm at home with him. It's been an amazing ride. Not easy, but easy at the same time.

I was validated in my choice to stay home with him this week. I was asked to volunteer at a daycare during a major transition period. Most of the workers left including the director. Scary!
For me as a parent it would be scary if my child was attending because the caretaker my young child has known since he's been born in some cases, is gone.

So here I am a stay at home mom in a daycare. Weird.
But I loved them just like my own. I gave them hugs. I held them. You can't hold your kids enough please believe. Don't listen to the ridiculous advice that you can hold your child too much. I was actually told at one point, I needed to put a screaming child down with their blanket. Because the parent requested them not be held. Why?

I will do the job according to what I know as a parent. I will love.
Thank God I don't have to do this every day. Kudos to those providers that care for our children.
When we cannot.