Wrapping Up 1 Year of Daycare

This is a note to myself for the future when I have to do the daycare beginning again (and no, not the near future) and all other parents that have the big 'D' hanging over their head with a baby on the way or a little baby that is going to have to head to daycare pretty soon.

I was very blessed and lucky to have a husband and a family that was there to support me and allow me to stay home for a full 12 weeks with Caroline and then go back to work for a few weeks until summer hit.  So unlike a lot of parents that have to send their kids to daycare when they are 6 weeks old, Caroline was 5 1/2 months before I had to drop her off for the first time.

I wrote a post about the madness of finding Caroline's school and I also wrote a post a month into the school year about how it sucked, but that we were doing ok.

Now that summer is so close I can almost taste it, I want to reflect on the year and what role daycare has played in our lives (so I can reread this is in August when we have to start this whole thing up again and down the road when we have another little one that I am going to drop off for the first time).

The bottom line of that second post was that taking Caroline to daycare every day sucks.  When I get down to that very bottom line, that hasn't changed.  In a perfect world I would be able to stay home or only work part time so that I could spend as much time with Caroline as possible.  Unfortunately, that isn't going to happen - which I have totally accepted.  I do love being a teacher and while I am at school I work really hard and like to believe that I am good at what I do.  That doesn't make me miss Caroline any less.

I remember asking my good friend Alexis if it ever got easier to drop your kid off at daycare.  (This was during the early days when I would show up to school crying because I had cried all the way from C's school to mine.)  She assured me that it did and she was right.  Over the past year, it really has gotten easier.  There are mornings when I know she is tired or that she doesn't feel good and I want nothing more than to just take her home and let her get in her bed.  Other than that, dropping her off has just become what we do.  We are moving so fast in the mornings that it really does help that I don't have time to think about it.  Jason gets her up and gets her breakfast going while I get showered and dressed and start packing us up.  Then we wipe her down, make sure everyone gets sufficient kisses for the day, and we are off.  I like to have dance parties in the car, because that always makes her wiggle a bit in her seat with a big smile and the occasional laugh.  That is enough to get me through the day.  Then I put in my 8+ hours and wrap things up so I can get in my car and go get her as soon as I can.  When I am at work, I really am able to be at work (which I didn't think would be possible).  I have her picture all over my desk and my room and I think about her all throughout the day, but I am able to focus on work, because I know she is being taken care of.  When we get home, all I want to do is watch her play for a little bit, listen to her talk and laugh, and hopefully let her get a litle bit of a nap.  Then we eat dinner, play for a bit, jump in the bath, and get ready for bed.

With all of that happening on any given week day, the time I have to sit down and let her crawl up into my lap and read a book together is about as good as it gets.  Alexis once told me that she is a better mom because she is a working mom.  She has more patience because she doesn't have to deal with the same things all day long.  Now, I totally understand where she is coming from.  If I was home and read 50 books a day, I don't think reading a book to her would be so awesome.  Now every single book I get to sit down and read to her gets my full attention and there is nothing else I'd rather do in this world.

Another thing that I have learned this year is that you can't put a price tag on your peace of mind.  When we were looking at daycares, price was one of the first things we talked about.  How in the world were we going to find $700 in our bank account?  I had friends tell me that somehow, there is enough money to write that check every month.  Our life has changed in order to make sure we have that $700 a month and every month, it is right there for us.  Even though $700 is a lot of money, I pay every single cent knowing that Caroline is loved, taken care of, learning a ton, gaining invaluable social skills, and having tons of fun.  She gets excited when I ask her if she is ready to go to school in the mornings and when we get there and I open that door, she yells to announce her arrival and the kids that are already there yell out, 'Carowine is he-uh!'  Ms. Val and Ms. Nita absolutely love her and tell her that every day when I come to pick her up.  She doesn't sleep as much as we'd like, but if that is the only thing I have to complain about, I think we're doing ok.  I also think that once she starts walking, she will wear herself out and she'll start napping like she needs to.  They have an awesome curriculum and do crafts every so often that we proudly hang on our fridge.  Since they are a five-star center, they do things as well as they can be done.  They are regulated through the state and even though I would totally trust them if they weren't, it makes me feel good to know that they have other people to answer to that are making sure they are doing what is best for our kids. 

So at the end of the day, we are all doing great.  Caroline is happy and is in a great place with great people while her Daddy and I work hard to make sure she has a good life.  We all live for the weekends and those precious moments when we get to spend the days in our PJs catching up on sleep and laughter.  And right around the corner is what I have been looking forward to since August 17th - SUMMER TIME!!!