UBC Motherhood - Childcare

When I first considered going back to work, I had to do a feasibility study: 

What were my daycare options?

My Mom had always told me she'd be happy to look after baby Colin for a day a week. 

I needed two more days!

At the time there was only one local daycare I knew about. 

Here's what they told me:

• The groups for kids between 3 and 18 months are full
• The groups for kids between 18 months and 3 years are full
• The waiting list for the second group that will apply to your son soon, is long. In all reality you may never make it.
• Since you don't directly live in our town, and your municipality has terminated the cooperation agreement, your spot on the waiting list will always be low anyway.

Whoa, hold on, my municipality did what?

And this daycare proudly states on their website that "children are admitted regardless of gender, origin, language, religion, skin color or the parents' way of life." 

But God forbid you live in a neighbor town that opted out of paying subsidies?!

I was disillusioned.This was going to be so much harder than I thought.

I asked around. Someone recommended the daycare their kid attended. We went to check it out.  It was a gray and rainy day, which was probably not doing this place any favors. The daycare was located in an old house. It was poorly lit and came with an overly steep set of stairs (safety?) 

Their concept sounded functional to use a nice word. 

They had a babies and toddler group, and they had a Kindergarten group, so the daily schedule revolved about the Kindergarteners: 

• Breakfast for those who were dropped off early
• The babies and toddlers accompanied the big kids to Kindergarten. This qualified as "going for a walk in the fresh air".
• The babies and toddlers went grocery shopping, which I guess can be considered playing house.
• The babies and toddlers get the cardboard boxes and cans some of the groceries came in to play with. This was supposed to spark their imagination.
• The babies and toddlers went to pick up the Kindergartners.
• Everybody had lunch together, cooked by the intern
• Rinse and repeat in the afternoon

I may be exaggerating a bit, but that's how I perceived things. We left, feeling depressed.

I didn't know exactly what I was expecting, but I can tell you, it wasn't this!!

By that time my interview situation at my future job intensified, and I was getting desperate. I asked the department head if there was some kind of corporate childcare available? Actually having Colin near me would allow for longer working time. 

"There isn't, but many of our employees like the daycare center at the airport, you should check it out."

We did, and it was a complete 180° experience from the sad old house. 

We went there on a sunny day. As we entered, we heard children singing a cheerful song.

The premises were flooded with light, and the ladies seemed super nice. While they showed us around, Colin was allowed to join the other kids, and he was excited about the baby slide and the ball pit!

This is them five years later. Our families became friends beyond bumping into each other at work or daycare.

They talked about how kids discover the world through play, and what they were doing to support them on their journey. 

They talked about the healthy meals they had delivered by a certified provider.

They talked about the children coming from all over the world, making the group diverse and exciting. "Whenever it's a kid's birthday, we can't seem to stop singing happy birthday, because each child will add their mother language's lyrics!"

Speaking of lyrics, there will be a song at the end of this post, so bear with me.

I was in love.

Now let's talk plain: Do you have any open spots at all? Do we need to be millionaires to be able to afford this wonderful place?

They could offer Mondays and Fridays, and the prices were not considerably higher than at the sad old house!

Now I had to get that job, and if I didn't, I had to keep applying with any other airline that had offices around the airport. I wanted my son to be able to attend this daycare!

Apart from the fact that Mondays and Fridays were horrible working days as such and traffic-wise, things worked out great for us. Colin had a blast and was integrated within his group in no time. They did activities all the time, and sometimes I wished I could join in myself!

For a couple of weeks they talked about colors and moods. Kids were encouraged to dress in that particular color and bring toys.

Aww, such fond memories. The sad thing is, he was so young, he can only remember bits and pieces.

Life happened, and two years later I had to quit my airline job and go work for hubby's IT business, and therefore the nice time at the airport was also over for Colin. It broke my heart at the time. They encouraged us to visit, and that's what we did for a while on my days off: We took a trip to the airport for some plane spotting and meeting up with his daycare buddies.

A new daycare center very close to where my parents live, opened, and Colin got a spot there. It wasn't the same, but it was local, and he's easy going, but when we got word about a daycare at our own village, literally within walking distance, opening a few months later, we considered yet another change, and it was worth the temporary disruption. 

All in all he was there for eight years: full-time from age four till Kindergarten, then he got promoted to the big kids' group that went there for lunch and after school, and when he was older, he just had lunch.

More about this place and the lady who was responsible for it in a later post.

Before you leave, I promised you as song as per today's writing prompt: 

Share the song lyric or the phrase you live by with your community.

I picked "That's what Friends are for" by Dianne Warwick, Stevie Wonder, Elton John and Gladys Knight:

And I never thought I'd feel this way
And as far as I'm concerned
I'm glad I got the chance to say
That I do believe, I love you

And if I should ever go away
Well, then close your eyes and try
To feel the way we do today
And then if you can remember

Keep smiling, keep shining
Knowing you can always count on me, for sure
That's what friends are for
For good times and bad times
I'll be on your side forever more
That's what friends are for

Well, you came in loving me
And now there's so much more I see
And so by the way
I thank you

Oh and then for the times when we're apart
Well, then close your eyes and know
The words are coming from my heart
And then if you can remember

Keep smiling and keep shining
Knowing you can always count on me, for sure
That's what friends are for
In good times and bad times
I'll be on your side forever more
That's what friends are for

Keep smiling, keep shining
Knowing you can always count on me, for sure
That's what friends are for
For good times and bad times
I'll be on your side forever more
That's what friends are for

Keep smiling, keep shining
Knowing you can always count on me, for sure
Cause I tell you, that's what friends are for
Whoa, good times and the bad times
I'll be on your side forever more
That's what friends are for

•