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Who Could Ask for More



The Brown girls have had an eventful week. Hubby has been at a conference in Vegas all week (listen closely, there are no sad, sad violins playing for him). While he was gone, I turned 35. That's all there is to say about that. Also while he has been gone, Bug has had a mystery bug which delayed her starting her second daycare in one month after being yanked from the first one due to verbal abuse. And, somewhere in there, we celebrated Martin Lever King Day.


As I previously reported, daycare #1 didn't get off to a great start. That was to be expected. Unfortunately, the bad start turned into worse and worse days the longer we stayed with it. The bad days turned into bad nights as she dreaded the morning. Suspicions were high, but I pushed that mother's intuition down. But then Nona paid a surprise visit to pick her up and walked in on a teacher screaming "SHUT UP" and my little Bug crying. No wonder she hated it so much. Sadly, it all started to make way too much sense. No wonder the place was clean (the only positive I could find), I imagine the kids were scrubbing the floor boards.


I didn't know what to do. It had already been my last resort, as I had her on the waiting list at every other reputable place in town. The next morning when I dropped her off at that place I burst into tears in the parking lot. These weren't first-time-mom-dropping-off-her-baby tears. They weren't my-baby-is-growing-up-tears. They weren't even I-wish-I-could-be-a-stay-at-home-mom-and-play-with-her-all-day tears. These were ohmygoodness-I-just-dropped-my-child-off-with-some-very-very-mean-people tears. I was inconsolable.


I called my one of the daycares that had her on a waiting list. It was the one I really wanted her to go to. The place nobody could say enough nice things about.  I was so hysterical the director could hardly understand me. She asked if I could come by some time and I told her I was in the parking lot. Despite the fact these people didn't know me from Adam and despite the fact I was loudly and proudly waiving my crazy-mama flag in their faces, running mascara and gasping breath to boot, the director hugged me as soon as I walked in. She assured me that they would find a place for Bug and told me to go get her immediately.


So I did. And they did. Then she got sick. But now she is better and she started at the happy school and I am getting texts updating me about her progress and photos of her actually SMILING. She still seems to have a few lingering symptoms of PTSD, but I know we made the right move and hopefully no irreparable emotional damage was done.


Then there is Pumpkin. Sometimes she is so wise and so funny at the same time. She got in the car the other day and announced that she had learned all about Lever King. Once I determined that it was Martin LUTHER King ("you know mom, we celebrate his birthday next week") I asked what she had learned. She replied that he wanted us to all ride the bus together. Not bad for a four year old.


In addition to MLK Day, this week also happens to be Pumpkin's turn to be "Scientist of the Week." So last night we are working on her science experiment and as she dutifully decorates her posters, she tells me in all seriousness that Martin Lever King would be so proud of her. After I choke on my breath trying not to laugh, I ask her why he would be proud. She tells me that he would be proud because she is going to speak in front of a crowd and teach people things. I couldn't respond because opening my mouth would have made it impossible to stifle my laughter. Sometimes she stumps me. It's getting to be more and more frequently.


Hubby will be back today. Our 6 year anniversary is this weekend and I told him that for once, I don't want to get a babysitter. I don't want a fancy dinner or a night out partying.  I want to stay in. Probably in PJs. With the girls. I just want to be with my people and take a few slow breaths and try to slow down time a little. Despite sometimes seemingly endless days and nights, the years truly have flown by.

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