Evil Dee's Daycare - Letting Your Kids Run Amok While You're Away
Every now and then I answer the call of a friend in need when daycare issues come up. Of course these friends know up front that I'm not a licensed provider and therefore will not be spending the day working flash cards for math, spelling and foreign languages with their little angels. I'm a 'live in the moment' kind of daycare provider. That means if somebody wears her shorts backwards all day then so be it. She got dressed all by herself and we celebrated how big she is. If somebody else happens to eat a dandelion while exploring in the backyard then he's got a head start on his veggie intake for the day. Besides, I'm long gone by the time mom discovers that recycled dandelion in Junior's diaper.
This week I have the pleasure of spending time with a beautiful ALMOST 4 year old girl and her cherub-cheeked 1 year old brother - who has just recently become VERY upwardly mobile. You know the stage: teetering on the brink of disaster with each jerky step as he makes his way through the scattered land mines (every imaginable toy and their parts, and one of the biggest, softest teddy bears I've ever seen). Your heart is pounding and your muscles are tensed, waiting to jump into rescue mode. But then you look at that face and the sheer joy expressed there and you know it's worth any hightened sense of anxiety over the bumps or bruises that he'll experience in the coming months.
My job with Maisy and Andy is considerable easier thanks to the swimming pools and swing set in the backyard. Maisy is addicted to the water, as witnessed by her lightening-fast change into her swimsuit after mom leaves - at 7:15 a.m. The sun isn't even shining in the backyard yet. So we swing for awhile, have a little snack and then slather on the sunscreen in preparation for pool time. This is such a hard gig for me...outside with 2 kids who are addicted to the sun and water. I chase after errant beach balls and make sure Andy doesn't do a faceplant in his little pool. We take in a puppet show at the local park and then walk around to watch the bigger kids practicing soccer and baseball. I figure all that fresh air and exercise is gonna mean tuckered out kids.
Of course, we all know who's completely exhausted at the end of the day - me! I've clearly found the best of nature's sleep aids...children under the age of six. It's not just a physical tired either, there's the mental challenges of kids being sooo smart at younger ages these days. You can't get away with just saying 'because that's the way it is'. Not when they're using Leapster applications on the computer. It's an all day effort to make sure I stay up to their speed! Yet, as I'm driving home each night, smelling of baby shampoo and sunscreen and pulling semi-soggy goldfish crackers out of my hair I have to admit: I wouldn't have missed the opportunity for anything in the world. I'm pretty sure Heather was banking on that when she asked me to stay with her kids. She knows me too well when it comes to her kidlets - I love to love 'em.
Now that the week is over I'm reminded why I don't have kids. Because you can't put them in a kennel and leave them alone for 10 hours. Seriously, for me it's just about being the fun 'auntie', then handing the little buggers back to their parents at the end of the day. There's fresh pineapple waiting to be blended with Patron in a giant pitcher of margaritas in my kitchen. There's a thick ribeye steak marinating in the fridge. And as the squeals, giggles and screams of delighted kids fades from my ears I start to hear something else calling me...my deck. I'm driving as fast as I can to get there.
In case some of you haven't figured out the movie reference from my post title:
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