My Farewell to Daycare

The last day of daycare, oh how I anticipated this day! As one friend said, they should drop confetti on your head when you make that last payment. Another said it’s like getting a raise – and it is! But when my daughter had her last day of daycare ever, I was not prepared for all of the emotions I felt when watching her walk out of the classroom. 

Let me start by saying we were blessed to not need full-time daycare until she turned three. It was a rough adjustment, since she was used to staying with grandma and grandpa instead of spending nine hours away from everyone she knew in a new place, far, far from her home. But eventually she adjusted. Soon daycare become a part of our life. And based on the tears I feel every time I pass her old school, I didn’t realize how big a part it had become.

What we never knew we always needed.

I can’t begin to thank the administrators and teachers who loved and nurtured her; who made her feel safe and happy, which in return made me safe and happy leaving her every day.

Then there are the friends she made. My heart filled with joy, as I watched them celebrate her and tell her how they would miss her on that last day. And the parents of the friends who asked to stay in touch – makes a mama proud. 

We really created a community there. And while we know the time is right to move on, there’s still a part of me that’s a bit sad. Sad that she left that community that really gave us so much. Sad that we’ve so quickly made it to this stage in our lives.

It’s so hard to say goodbye. 

I won’t miss the tuition, and I am seriously hoping there are less coloring sheets sent home in Pre-K. But I will miss the friends, the teachers, and the community we made. As we say goodbye to the daycare stage, we are excited about the next stage – “real” school!

It’s a bittersweet moment, leaving me so grateful to daycare for being a part of our lives for these years, for making our transition to a new home that much easier, for caring for our child when we couldn’t be there. 

Farewell, daycare.

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jamihouston
Jami is an administrator in Higher Education and loves working with college students. She is married to husband Derek, a professor of education and is a mom to Ava (4). Jami and her family moved to Oklahoma from their life-long home of Illinois 2 years ago. She is trying to balance motherhood with hers and her husband's careers as well as adjusting to their new life in Oklahoma. Jami enjoys travelling, reading self-help books, trying new restaurants, cupcakes, and spending time with her family.

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