I Need More Hellos

Why can't we get all the people together in the world that we really like and then just stay together?  I guess that wouldn't work.  Someone would leave.  Someone always leaves.  Then we would have to say good-bye.  I hate good-byes.  I know what I need.  I need more hellos.   Charles M. Shultz

 

 

I am not a fan of good-byes.  Never have been.  This time of year is always full of good-byes for most child care providers and I am no exception.  This year I have two little ones going off to kindergarten. 

 

I've always thought that doing family child care was a double-edged sword when it came to the close relationships we build with the families in our program.  While I love the fact the that the greater majority of families that come through my program have been with me from birth to school, it also makes it harder to let them go. 

When you have families that have 2 or 3 children it is not unusual to have that family involved in your program for a decade or more.  A DECADE!  Think about how much time that is.  When you work in child care you often see your child care families more than your own family members or friends.  While it is always hard to say goodbye to the children that leave my program it has become increasingly harder over the last few years.  I attribute that to the fact that our own children are now grown and out of our house. 

Recently I was taking a trip down memory lane thinking about different families that have come and gone over the years.  Now you all know that even though we try not to, we have favorites.  For a multitude of reasons we bond with some families more than we do others.  There was a period of time about 5 years ago that I had a larger than normal group of longtime families that I was really close too.

One day a couple of months ago one of those moms stopped by.  I thought she was bringing her kids to visit but she was alone.  She said that she was in the area and wanted to stop in because she had a few questions.  The first thing she asked was how was child care going and did I think I would be doing it a while longer.  I said it was going great and yes I was going to keep going for at least another 4 or 5 years.  She said that was great news and wondered if I had any infant openings.  I assumed it was for a friend and told her that if it was for her of course we had an opening.  She smiled and quietly said, "it is."  Their new little bundle was a total surprise!  One of my favorite families ever will be rejoining or program in November. 

As I've mentioned before I look for signs that I am on the right track, I am where I need to be in my life.  This was definitely one of those signs. 

Last Friday I said goodbye to one of my two little ones heading off to kindergarten and yesterday I said goodbye to the other little one.  Today holds another goodbye for me.  Our son is going back to Chicago (900 miles away) this afternoon.  He has been home for a week for our oldest daughter's wedding which had a whole lot of goodbyes tied to it.  I'm feeling sad as I write this post just thinking about it.  I know I am being selfish and I need to focus on the fact that he is only a phone call or Skype away but it is hard none the less.

Today I will work hard to make the day full of hellos.    Hello to new opportunities to develop relationships with the new little ones starting with our program next week. Hello to new experiences for the children in my program.  Hellos to people I haven't talked to in a while.  Hellos to new ideas and the places they can take me. Hellos to life!

Are you going to have hellos or goodbyes in your program today?  How will you handle them?  What can you do to make memories today?