Looking for the Magic

I was just updating my daycare blog when this sentence fell off the tip of my fingertips - "My Little Daycare Daughter found a Magical Forest when we were out on our walk last week. I found a Magical Land right in our own back yard this week."

I don't normally get too terribly 'deep' when I write about our days to my daycare parents but I love when the deepness happens without even realizing it. We have had a delightful daycare week. The return of a little girl I took care of last year (who I often referred to as "bringing out the best in everyone") has cast a little bit of sun upon our days.

It's a bit of a crap shoot at times - who gets tossed into and out of our lives and our days. I think (for the most part) it is good to work with what and who you get, because that is what life is all about. We really have little choice over the people who come in and out of our lives. Why not start at daycare?

I have a few personalities that really do not bring out the best in each other (and ultimately, me, as I navigate some of those days). What is it about some little, tiny people that rubs the world the wrong way?

I think a lot of the trouble I have been having, has to do with children being brought up to be the centre of the universe. I take care of (almost all) only children. They come into our world at daycare and are not accustomed to having to compromise, trade, take turns, share or even ... wait.

We walk through some days and it is a battlefield of personalities. If I'm not at the top of my game, these days are not all sunshine and roses.

Even the worst of days are simply an accumulation of bad moments. They hit a crescendo, we deal with the aftermath, I walk away and come back at things after a brief time out or nap and we just keep starting over. All day.

I think I have been focusing on the negative more than the positive lately, because I haven't 'felt the magic' for a while. It comes in little flashes of perspective but I haven't been able to grab onto it and hold it.

Yesterday, I saturated myself in it. I sat still and just listened. And watched. Oh, the day was filled with pitfalls and detours but on the whole, there was a whole lot of 'harmony' going on. There is nothing sweeter than watching children contentedly at play, when they have no idea you are noticing them.

My little three year old has adopted a leadership role when she is with the 'two and unders'. They look up to her and follow her lead. I listened to her tone of voice with them. She was kind. I listened to their response. They reciprocated in kind. It was nothing. But it was so much.

Those moments showed me what we are all capable of noticing. The beauty in a moment. The beauty seemed to come out of no where, but I could hear the tones of their voices. They were reflecting the day we had just lived. It was magical.

"This" is the magic I love in my Daycare World. I think a person finds whatever it is they are looking for. I like looking for the magic.