daycare drama: rocky start, smooth sailing at last

We hung out at this cool place last
week. Rope bridges and ponds and
 slides built into the landscaping.

Remember last year's daycare drama? Recap:  The twin girls I sit for go to Goddard School three days a week. When grandma bowed out as their part-time caregiver, they split their time between me and Goddard. I'd never had a family use an actual daycare on their days opposite me, but out of my control. 

The twins got infected with Hand Foot Mouth on the first day of school and spread it to my daycare before they realized they had it. Wilhelm's cancelled my services because she was upset that the twins were going to Goddard.

Since Wilhelm left in mid September, I spent the rest of the school year trying to fill the vacancy. It was a revolving door of weirdos - neither family who started worked out. It was the year when Crazy quit, then Crazier called, and then Craziest (the peeps who insisted I wake their baby up at set intervals and feed him on a pillow on my knee even though he didn't suffer from cleft palate) pushed me over the edge. 

Good riddance. Financially it was rough. I was supposed to be socking college tuition money away  because, believe it or not, I don't want to do this forever. An open spot all year frustrated me from a I NEED TO MAKE A BUNDLE standpoint.

I met two sisters in April. Both teachers. Their in-home daycare was closing. It seemed like a perfect fit. I even gave them a bit of a discount, since they'd been accustomed to a state licensed place that charged less than me. 

They started in August. The parents are lovely. They follow the rules, pay on time, aren't overly demanding.

The problem:  one little girl. 'Alexa' She's 4.5 years old. She doesn't go to preschool, because they couldn't figure out transportation and they don't live in my district so they don't qualify for bus, etc. They said their older son didn't do preschool because of the pandemic and it worked out fine. Um, Alexa needs preschool, or a swift kick in the pants. 

She's smart as a whip. She's beautiful. She's a major pain in my ass. Well, she started out that way. I literally am here to say that I ALMOST called her folks and said NOPE. DONE. CAN'T DEAL WITH HER. 

My stomach physically hurt when she started her crying stuff. I even broke down and cried myself one day in the fall. I just couldn't with this kid anymore.

Guess who feels like they've babysat every type of kid and who couldn't imagine a situation that she couldn't handle? ME, that's who. 

I stuck it out and Alexa has settled in. I really cannot believe I'm typing those words because I never thought it was possible. 

She cried everyday. Her little brother is 2.5. He's easy-peesie. No tears. Ever. There was nothing I could do to make her happy. Making small people happy is my profession. I keep them safe. I entertain. I bring them on nice outings. I read books and play games. I dance around the table during meals and they die laughing. I pretend my kitchen is a restaurant and I take their orders for meals. I'm a riot, damn it. I inform them of the rules, soothe their tears, and engage with them ALL.DAMN.DAY.LONG.

I'm the bomb, if I don't say so myself. 

I started just putting her up in a bedroom and telling her she could join us when she was done crying. If we went to the zoo, she asked when we could go home. She tattles. She lies. She pesters. She orders all the other kids around. She doesn't nap - eek. 

I worried that her parents were gonna think that I sucked. Maybe they'd question whether or not I was mistreating her. The dad usually drops off and I wasn't getting a good read on him. 

Finally he told me that she is like that at home. Difficult. Moody. That sometimes she just requires time alone. Oh, I can give her time alone ALL DAY LONG. 

I'm not sure if they spoil her at home and just give in because it's easier or if she is going to end up having an issue like oppositional defiance disorder. Maybe she will grow out of her nonsense. 

It took a few months for her to settle in. I bought coloring books, so she could color during nap time. That helped. I made a sticker chart. If she wanted to color at nap time she had to acquire stickers. One sticker for walking into the house without making her dad carry her. A sticker for not crying, etc. 

After six weeks, she started arriving without crying. It was November, mind you. She and her brother are here Mon, Tues, Wed. I started feeling like Thursday was the weekend. Such a relief to wake up and realize she wasn't coming. 

Between sitting in a room alone upstairs and getting more comfortable with the other kids, who are ALL SUPER SWEET AND FUN AND PLAYFUL- not a bully or a mean bone between them, I think she finally adjusted to the change. She started getting my routine and learned that pushing my buttons is not going to end well. 

I drafted this back in November, but bumped it for something super interesting, I'm sure. The school year is winding down and I'm finally sharing it. Mini arrived home Friday. I can schedule things like mammograms and meetings with the high school investigator (set for Tuesday). If you consider that I almost quit Alexa's family despite how bummed I was to have an opening all last year, I think you'll appreciate how rough the start of this school year was. 

SUMMER . . . my break. It's almost here. Holler if you love summer and tell me what your plans are. Do you have job-related nonsense that you thought would never improve?