Wednesday, April 8, 2009

a different kind of labor

Of all the things that a parent goes through.... pregnancy, labor, sleepless nights, tantrums and more, I had no idea that finding good child care would be such a drain on my energy.

First, I should mention that our family is super fortunate and blessed to have one of Addison's grandmothers, my mother-in-law, Cheryle, living close by and always willing to help out whenever she can. She was his sole care provider for the first two years of his life while I worked part time, and she continues to be available for afternoon pick-ups, sick days and the occasional scheduling snafu. This has been an amazing gift to our family in many many ways, and I have tried to always recognize how lucky we are and show appreciation, but I'm sure I still manage to take it for granted on some level.

After 6+ months of researching daycare facilities and other child care options, we finally found a school for Addison that we felt comfortable with, we could afford, and was fairly close by. He's been here for over a year, and we have been really happy with it. I was so happy we waited for the right place to come into our lives before we finally enrolled him.

Now, a little over a year later, we find ourselves in child care transition again, and the process has been difficult. Researching, open houses, tours, more research, dead-ends, filling out forms, long waitlists, exorbitant fees, turn-offs, let downs, waiting with baited breath, miscommunications, and on and on and on.... I keep thinking to myself, Why does this have to be SO hard?

I don't have answers. I wish I did. My heart goes out to all the other mothers out ther who are having similar experiences... I guarantee I'm not alone in this.

I'm just still waiting and hoping and praying that the school we've got our sight on now comes through for us so we don't have to start this exhaustive process all over again from square one.

Wish us luck.

tram ride with dad

6 comments:

Seema B Menon said...

My son's just 4 months old... guess I'll be facing this soon! Right now I leave him with my mother when I go to work...

Mindy said...

i hear your pain :) we are currently searching for a babysitter and the process is a little daunting. hope your school thing works out!

Cheryle said...

We're all hoping and praying for this to be resolved soon. I'm sure child caregivers know how difficult it is, just by the numbers of inquiries they have! But you would think, when there are so many who need it, there would be more who are willing to do it!

Keep thinking positive! I am!

Cheryle said...

PS: I don't ever feel taken for granted! You all show your appreciation in so many ways - not the least of which is your trust and willingness to include me in your lives!

Liz Harrell said...

I'm thinking of you today... so many of my friends who are working moms struggle with this. I admire all your hard work and tenacity.. being a working mom is so hard!

Hugs,
Liz

Jenn Carson said...

We've been really lucky, so far. My biggest fear is that in public schools here, they won't be pushed enough. I know Fiona isn't, even though she's had some of the best teachers out there. The system's just broken.

How lucky you are that you have a third hand to pick up the slack for those days Daycare + working parents just don't add up to scheduling bliss.