Henry hadn’t been at daycare in a week because she was closed the better part of last week for the holidays. So, this morning, he was extra excited when I asked him if he wanted to go to Miss Christine’s on our drive there. As we pulled onto her street, he started kicking his feet and clapping. It’s so nice to know that he loves her.
And then the bomb.
As I went through the usual routine of signing him in and updating her on how his weekend was, she told me she had bad news:
As of January 1st, she was no longer going to be doing daycare.
Her husband works construction, and he’s been home A LOT. For a while. Besides Henry, she only has her daughter and her niece and a little boy Rudy who comes for 2 hours everyday. I had wondered how on earth they could make ends meet with her husband working so little and so few children. In fact, my guess is that none of the kids were paying full time rates (Henry only goes 3 days a week). But, I tried not to think of it, and made it a point to let her know I was pregnant as a hint that she would have one more paying kid soon enough.
Unfortunately, it’s not soon enough. Next month, she and her daughter will be moving down to Southern California with her mom while her husband works the outage at Diablo. After that, he’ll probably have to move down there too. I feel so so so sad for them. I can’t imagine. This economy is really hurting a lot of people. She plans on going to school full time and becoming a registered nurse. I hope that works out for them. She'll be fantastic at it.
And now, selfishly, back to me. I cried when she told me. I cried the whole way to work. And a few times since then. Not just because I don’t want to look for daycare again. But because my heart is broken. Henry adores Christine. He loves going over there, and she loves him right back. In fact, many times, he’s cried when I got there to pick him up! He has so much fun with her. It’s such an ideal scenario. I cannot imagine having to move him. Again. This will be the fourth daycare in 15 months.
Pray that I have the wherewithal to keep it together and in finding another great place for him to go.
3 years ago
