I Have a Lot of Children

For those of you that know me you know that I work at a daycare, in fact some of you reading this may be the parents of the children that I keep every afternoon (please keep reading). When I say I have a lot of children I mean it. I didn't give birth to them, I have no legal right to them, I am not their mom, and in some situations I am not their teacher. If you bring your child to the daycare I work at odds are once I meet that child whether they are in my class, have left "graduated" from my class, eventually coming to my class, or are to never set foot in my class they are still mine while they are there. For most of them I have changed their diaper more than once, I have kissed more invisible "boo boo's" then I can count, I have rejoiced over counting (correctly) from 1 to 10, I have potty trained, cleaned up accidents, tied shoes, found socks, cleaned up spilt water, spilt milk and dried the tears caused by the spilling of the milk. On some occasions I have held children close and rocked them doing every thing I could to soothe them as they screamed and cried because they had a fever well above 101 degrees and their parents hadn't quite made it to the daycare yet. So parents please be aware when we call you to let you know that you child is extremely sick, there is someone (be it me or another teacher) who is holding your child close and comforting him or her until you get there, and quite often we get whatever they get but we would do it again because they are ours while they are at that daycare.

I can honestly not tell you how many times I have had to go back up to someone and let them know that I work at a daycare because I have went on and on about "my" kids and how they have; learned a color, learned to count from 1 to 10, learned to use the potty, told a crazy and funny story, learned to walk, learned to talk, and so on and so forth. I remember when I was on the baby hall and had my first, first steps moment with one of the kids (had another parent walked by they would have thought she was mine) I was so excited and went from room to room to room making sure every teacher saw that she was walking and (yes I did make sure they got just as excited before I walked away). I reacted the same to the two kids that did so afterwards as well. Not only did I get excited in the daycare, I stayed excited after I went home and proceeded to tell my family (in detail) about each child and their first steps.

There is one last thing that I want each parent reading this to be aware of, not only do I love your child tremendously, but I pray for your child AND your family. I pray that your child will be a mighty warrior for God and that they will serve Him all of their lives. I also pray for you (parents) that you will trust in God, that you will find strength and peace in Him, and that you will never be discouraged. I pray so much more than all of this over you and your families. When I walk into the classroom in the afternoons, before I ever wake the kids, I get on my knees and I pray; for my kids, my co-workers, the day and yes I pray for me too. When I sub for a morning teacher the first thing I do as I walk in and start preparing the room is start praying for the same things. Please never doubt that when you leave your children with me, they are loved, cared for, protected and prayed for. Things happen, your child might get bit by another child but it DOES NOT mean that we didn't do what we could to prevent that from happening. We are not perfect people but we do our best to take care of your child while they are with us. If you sit down and you think about it 9 times out of 10 your child is with me more than they are with you. PLEASE DON'T MISUNDERSTAND ME, you work and I get it, sometimes you are off and you need that break and it's okay! I don't mind having your child but it is a fact that I see your child more than you do in a day, Monday-Friday. So, please find comfort in the fact that when you walk out that door headed towards work or wherever, and you leave your child with me, they are mine. I love them and will take care of them to the best of my ability until you come back.

So, now I am going to go and get ready for work. I am going to go and be with these kids whom I love so very much. I would ask that you would pray for me and my co-workers because while we love your kids, we also have many others. I have 9. It takes a lot of strength to care for 9 2-3 year olds. This is my life. God has put me where I am and while He may move me later in life, for now I am right where He wants me. I have A LOT of children and I love them all. =)