08/29/2020
Goodbye is always hard. However, in my profession, goodbye means “you’ve grown so much that it’s time for someone better at math to help you grow more.”
As an emotionally secure individual, I allow myself all the feels. The last day hugs are filled with tears. I whisper into those children’s ear all day to “remember how amazing you are. Remember you will change the world. Don’t forget how happy you make people. Don’t stop shining your special light. Nobody else is better than you and you are not better than anybody else. Smiling at everyone will make others smile...” all the good nuggets I really want to stick.
I have been a licensed Child Care provider for the better part of 20 years. I chose this profession based on my beautiful life circumstances. My incredible daughter Madalene Schorr, my black lab Nala Wala Schorr, ( because a rhyming middle name seemed appropriate for my fast and furious copilot of 15 years.) and myself made a small but mighty family. I knew the moment she was born that i needed to make a plan to generate income while keeping her swaddled between me and Nala. Never in my life of 23 years had I contemplated child care or had even been interested in children or babies.
I found myself an opportunity, dropped down a gear and turned onto a new path. With the help of a second mom to me, Mrs Deeken, I started my own Child Care and never looked back. The children and families that have become ours and us theirs, over the years, is mind blowing to think about.
I can not yet call my current circumstances beautiful but this BIZZARE year we are all enduring has left me needing to switch gears yet again for the sake of my incredible children. I do not yet know how we will land but I do know we will land on our feet. We always do. This coming Thursday I will close doors to Katie’s Family Daycare aka Groovy Gremlins. For now, I don’t know much more than that.
I said goodbye yesterday to a family that has been with me for 7 years. The reality is I will see them a lot still ( so tears do seem silly)however they gifted me a beautiful bouquet, a few chocolate bars and a coupon book that is precisely what my heart aches for with every daycare “goodbye”.
The best gift you can give someone is the gift of time. Thank you to all my wonderful daycare families, past and present, for all the time, love and support. God speed to everyone needing to change gears during these challenging times. Xox
