(Not So) Endless Summer

Today is the first day of the last week of summer for me. Sigh.

We decided last week to go ahead and try to get their kids back into their school year routine this week so I could start working in my classroom. Jackson woke up in a great mood, ready for the new day. After Kevin got him dressed, he walked into the living room and climbed in my lap to give me a hug. For some reason, he looked extra grown up today. I put his shoes on and he walked straight to the door saying, "Bye mama! I go play at Tanda's all day!"

So much for being a mama's boy.

The truth is that I really love this time of year. It's like a new adventure. I've always loved the beginning of school for that reason. I love going to stores and seeing all the school supplies. I love the first "official" day back at work. I love organizing my room. I love seeing my colleagues again. I love my job. I'm a nerd. I know. I'm okay with that.

The reason I can be okay with that is largely because I have such wonderful people taking care of my babies while I'm at work. Jackson and Sadie's Nana and Nannie each take one day a week, and then Tanya is our child care goddess--I mean provider--the other three days.

I really can't say enough good things about Tanya. You have to understand that in our small town, there is very, very little choice as far as quality daycare for infants--emphasis on quality. I didn't want to stick my baby in a crowded daycare run by people I'd never met--and the fact is that even if I DID want to do that, I would have to drive 15 minutes to do it. Everyone I worked with who had kids said that Tanya was the best anywhere, hands down. And I knew her personally. So, when I was about 6 months pregnant with Jackson, I went to Tanya and asked--if asking means getting down on my hands and knees and begging--her to make a place for him in her home. She did. When Jackson was four months old, he started going to Tanya's three days a week. Sadie was almost three months.

If you're wondering why we might rather pay someone to watch my children instead of letting the grandmothers have more time with them, the answer is simple. Grandmothers are grandmothers. I once heard some childcare expert say that it wasn't a great idea to recruit grandparents as daily babysitters because they don't get to do what grandparents do best--spoil their grandkids. If they're going to do their "job" as daycare providers, they have to be a disciplinarian, educator, and nutritionist. How many grandmothers do you know that want to tell their sweet grandbabies "no"? Kevin and I also wanted our kids to be around other kids...to learn how to play nice, so to speak. Tanya watches up to eight kids in her home, and her kids are there when they get home from school. They are the nicest children, and they are soooo nice to my babies!

And that's the best part about Tanya. You hear people who work with children say, "I love your children just like my own." As a child, I would hear teachers say this, and very rarely did I buy it. With Tanya, I buy it. When Jackson was around a year old, someone (NOT someone with a child in her care) turned her into the state for not being licensed. When I got to her house to pick up Jackson, she was crying and apologizing. "For what?" I asked. I knew she wasn't licensed. I also knew that her house was always spotless, the kids were always happy, and there had never been a minute that I worried about Jackson's safety. But in order to continue watching children, she had to get licensed. She didn't have to do that, but she did.

She has fed my son from her own refrigerator when he wouldn't eat the lunch I sent for him. She gives the kids she cares for the structure of "school" and the comfort of home. He knows his ABC's, colors, and shapes primarily because of her. The first time I had to put Jackson in time out, he knew exactly what to do because she is so consistent with her discipline (She swears it's just because he'd seen her put other kids in time out--not my sweet baby, of course:)). Her son will send "gifts" (his own toys) home with Jackson. She loves my babies and they love her.

We love her. Thank you, Tanya.