For me it was literally a life changing journey. Twenty-one years ago I worked in a personnel office for a state agency. Our oldest daughter was 6 and our son was 4 when our youngest little bundle came along.
When my maternity leave ended we took our children to one of the most amazing family child care providers I have ever met. The kids loved her, my husband and I loved her, but something was wrong. Not with our provider but with me. Each day after I dropped the kids off at her house I would cry all the way to work. I would cry on my breaks, I would cry on my lunch, I would cry all the time. My crying didn't have anything to do with our provider - it was all me. After a lot of self evaluation I realized that I was feeling this way because this was our last child and I didn't want to miss a moment of it. Staying home was not an option because we needed my income as well as my husband's.
Soon after I returned to work my best friend called me and told me that her child care provider was closing. She was having a terrible time finding a quality program where she could take my goddaughter. She asked if my provider had any openings. As with any good provider, her program was full and her waiting list was long. Time went by and they still had not found a new child care provider and I was still unhappy with my own situation with my daughter. During a conversation my friend mentioned that she and her husband might have come up to a solution to both of our problems.
What if they brought my goddaughter to me for child care and I could stay home with both their child and our children. They would pay me and that would allow me to still bring in an income. I have to be honest, when she first explained her plan to me I laughed. Seriously, it was the 80s and I was little Susie Business Woman. I'm sure you've seen pictures - big hair, big jewelry, business suits, shoulder pads - you get the picture. While I loved being a mom I couldn't imagine being home all day caring for and entertaining children.
We pretty much tabled the conversation until I really couldn't handle missing my kids anymore. I talked to my family and once I had their blessing and support I called my friend and told her let's give it a try. I gave my notice and 2 weeks later my child care adventure began. I have to admit, things went much smoother than I had anticipated and more surprisingly I found myself really enjoying my career change. After a few weeks I received a call from the gal who had the office next to mine when I worked for the state. She wondered if I was still watching my friend's child and if so, would I consider watching her daughter as well. I figured since I was already watching one child other than my own why not watch one more. This sort of started an avalanche of calls and one thing led to another and next thing I knew I was licensed, at capacity and had a waiting list of my own.
My plan was always to do child care until our youngest daughter was in school. Apparently I neglected to specify which school because she is in the last stages of nursing school, I am still doing childcare and am in fact providing child care for her two children as well. Looking back I can see that God had a bigger plan for me than I could have ever imagined. While I enjoyed my job at the state, I have more than enjoyed by career as a provider.
I would love to hear your story. Why did you become a child care provider? Was it accidental or on purpose? How long have you been a provider? Why do you continue to be a provider? What is the best part of being a provider? What would you change if you could?
No comments:
Post a Comment