One More Time
This week is a bit of an emotional one for me. It's the last week one of my children will go to the daycare we've been going to for 10 years. Ten solid years. Almost everyday of the school year and sporadically in the summer I have walked in the door, greeted whoever was behind the counter, checked in, and walked down the hall to a classroom. Upon entering the room, we were greeted by a teacher that has most likely been in that facility since we started going there. Almost all of Alexa's teachers. . . had Andrew, except for 2 (by the time they went through the facility- they had 17 teachers). Some of those teachers have been there since it opened. That daycare has been open for close to 20 years. Folks- I don't know if you know about daycares, but that kind of staff stability is unheard of in a daycare. They have notoriously high turn over. Understandably. Low pay, crap hours, and . . . small children (I teach high school for a reason, people). If it's a daycare that wants to have high ratings the staff has to have have a certain level of education and keep up with licensing requirements- again I say, low pay, crap hours and small children, plus hoops to jump through? No thanks! I can honestly say, in 10 years we have never had a teacher we didn't like. Were there some teachers that Andrew did better with, than Alexa? Yes. There were some teachers that Alexa bonded with more than Andrew did. Regardless, I appreciated the care, sense of humor, and education they gave my children. Because again- low pay, crap hours, and potty training many small children at the same time.
But . . this is the last week. I will honestly miss seeing some of those women. Some of you call your pediatrician when a troubling situation comes up with your children, I have called the director at our daycare. I trust her. She's a mother, childcare professional, and has worked with probably thousands of children. I still ask her questions about whether I should worry/pick a fight/stick to my guns with stuff that comes up with Andrew. How will I get through elementary school, without these women to laugh at/with me or ask their thoughts????
When Andrew started elementary school, I realized how I had been RUINED by our daycare. His teachers didn't communicate with me, like his daycare teachers did. Elementary teachers didn't know how I don't actually take my parenting skills all that seriously. There's only been one teacher I've been able to establish the kind of relationship with, like I have with the daycare teachers, at the elementary level. I am pretty sure that I will have even less of a relationship with middle school teachers. If I didn't teach at the high school, I am pretty sure I wouldn't know them at all.
So, Alexa will go for real, on Monday, to kindergarten. She is so excited she can hardly stand herself. I can hardly stand her. She's talking even more than usual, which is mind boggling on my first week of school. I am totally over stimulated and she's . . . talking a mile a minute. (it could be worse. Andrew was an emotional wreck before he started, which is why I have done nothing to dissuade her loquacious tendencies.) Today she found some Little Debbie Brownies in the cabinet and she said, "OH! These are my FAVORITES!!!!! I want these for my lunch dessert at school on Monday." The way she said it, made me think she's been wanting to say that sentence for a long time. When I took her yesterday for her assessment day, I walked her in the room, she got her name tag, put her book bag in the cubby and walked over to a table with some other little girls. She left me, and didn't look back. I asked the teacher, as I was tearing up, was there anything else I needed to do, and she said, "Nope, you can go once she's settled." Then she looked at me, and said, "Well, you can go once you're settled." I left. I didn't cry- just got teary. Somehow this girl, that wouldn't let anyone else hold her when she was an infant, and I couldn't leave in Sunday School at church, somehow she's become this independent, grown up girl. If I cry this much over her going to kindergarten, I will be a wreck when she leaves to go to college.
While I am sad she's no longer my squishy baby (and thankful at the same time as she was a trial as a baby), I am so happy for her. I am so happy that she is getting to do something she has wanted to do for so long. I hope the rest of the year lives up to all of her greatest wishes.
But . . this is the last week. I will honestly miss seeing some of those women. Some of you call your pediatrician when a troubling situation comes up with your children, I have called the director at our daycare. I trust her. She's a mother, childcare professional, and has worked with probably thousands of children. I still ask her questions about whether I should worry/pick a fight/stick to my guns with stuff that comes up with Andrew. How will I get through elementary school, without these women to laugh at/with me or ask their thoughts????
When Andrew started elementary school, I realized how I had been RUINED by our daycare. His teachers didn't communicate with me, like his daycare teachers did. Elementary teachers didn't know how I don't actually take my parenting skills all that seriously. There's only been one teacher I've been able to establish the kind of relationship with, like I have with the daycare teachers, at the elementary level. I am pretty sure that I will have even less of a relationship with middle school teachers. If I didn't teach at the high school, I am pretty sure I wouldn't know them at all.
So, Alexa will go for real, on Monday, to kindergarten. She is so excited she can hardly stand herself. I can hardly stand her. She's talking even more than usual, which is mind boggling on my first week of school. I am totally over stimulated and she's . . . talking a mile a minute. (it could be worse. Andrew was an emotional wreck before he started, which is why I have done nothing to dissuade her loquacious tendencies.) Today she found some Little Debbie Brownies in the cabinet and she said, "OH! These are my FAVORITES!!!!! I want these for my lunch dessert at school on Monday." The way she said it, made me think she's been wanting to say that sentence for a long time. When I took her yesterday for her assessment day, I walked her in the room, she got her name tag, put her book bag in the cubby and walked over to a table with some other little girls. She left me, and didn't look back. I asked the teacher, as I was tearing up, was there anything else I needed to do, and she said, "Nope, you can go once she's settled." Then she looked at me, and said, "Well, you can go once you're settled." I left. I didn't cry- just got teary. Somehow this girl, that wouldn't let anyone else hold her when she was an infant, and I couldn't leave in Sunday School at church, somehow she's become this independent, grown up girl. If I cry this much over her going to kindergarten, I will be a wreck when she leaves to go to college.
While I am sad she's no longer my squishy baby (and thankful at the same time as she was a trial as a baby), I am so happy for her. I am so happy that she is getting to do something she has wanted to do for so long. I hope the rest of the year lives up to all of her greatest wishes.
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