I Get Paid For This!

I reap many rewards in my newly renovated Daycare Life ...

The ease with which we transition into the day. My kids and my parents happily say their good-byes to each other at the onset of our day. I am astonished how easy this has been. No one has cried when their parent has drove off to work. No one!

Then we spend the day spotting airplanes, buses, trucks and puppies. We count ladybugs and we discover dragonflies.

Yes, I am ready for adult conversation by the end of the day. When your day consists of repetitive phrases such as, "Yes, that is a BLUE truck!" ... "Your daddy is at work" ... "Yes, I hear an airplane. Can you see it?" ... "Your daddy is at work" ... "There are TWO puppies. One, two!" ... "Your mommy is at work" ... "Look at the crows flying. Let's count them" ... "Your daddy is at work" ... I am a little bit of a chatterbox when in the company of someone over 5 years old and I get to form full sentences that require articulation and thought.

Then my parents come home and pick up their little ones and again, everyone is smiling and happy.

Yesterday my little one-year-old (that will start in October) came for a trial run. She ran right up to me and wanted to be picked up as soon as her mom put her down. You would have thought I had known her, her whole life! It was quite amazing. She didn't cry when her mom left. She was happy throughout the day. She was happy when her mom came home. Her mom was happy. I was happy.

These little rewards come on a daily basis. The relief and gratitude that I feel from my parents when they feel that their children are safe and happy when they must go off to work. They trust me. I will work to continue earning that trust. Words are not required because we all see it and feel it. We are starting to build a family.

I like counting bugs for a living. If my kids aren't happy with something, they cry. We fix it and life goes on. When they get cranky and tired, they go for a nap. Life-as-normal resumes after an hour or two of quiet and we are ready to roll again. Before you know it, the day is winding up and happy parents are picking up happy kids.

It just doesn't get better than this ...