Things that Mean a Lot to Me

I am a caretaker of wee small children. These are children who are just learning to drink from a big kid cup. Children who can't always communicate their thoughts and ideas in their limited vocabularies. Children who are in the throes of potty training, who are also still learning that unlike when they were infants and toddlers and people jumped at every cry and helped them get what they needed -- they now are being expected to provide themselves with some comfort. I take care of children who have never been away from their parents, who have never been around children other than their families.

It's a hard mix of social/emotional growth issues.

So it means a lot to me, when a mother that I absolutely love says that she trusts me implicitly to care for her daughter, especially when she has severe food allergies.

I don't take that lightly. I'm honored and touched.

As a mother, I felt like I was a team with X-man's teachers. I always want to convey that feeling to others as well. Parents  know their children the best. They are on the front lines trying to raise a caring, respectful individual every day. But at the same time, with the twos -- and the introduction of the understanding and usefulness of the word "No" our children begin to formulate who they are as individuals, and what we want from them as parents becomes second to who they are as individuals.

It's a crazy life, and I love it.