Grateful for Children

I'm feeling really grateful to that day during the Summer of 2004 when I tagged along with high school buddies to volunteer at a local childcare center.  I was missing my baby cousin and baby nephew so badly and I just wanted to be around babies.  Little did I know that sporadic volunteering would turn into a regular after-school thing would grow into my first every jahb and I'd be looking back a decade later with awesome childcare experience, having found my life's work.

I have loved dozens of children, and I hold the gifts they shared close to my Heart--from Darrius who always used to pinch me and Nadica the 3yo who would curse me out in Hatian Creole to Baby Larry who was the biggest 10-month old goofball I've yet to encounter to Kendall, who's mom always kept her outfits coordinated down to her shoelaces and my baby Noah, and those days when I literally carried him the moment he walked through the door just so he wouldn't shriek the entire day.  All of these kiddos taught me something about myself and what it takes to take care of and be cared for.

I love children--even when it's tought--and I am so honoured to work with them and learn from/with them and to grow alongside them.  Young children have taught me some of the most valuable lessons in my life--they've reminded me that we're all learning and that the learning process cannot be taken for granted; they've taught me that's it's ok to break down and cry because sometimes that what's needed at that moment, they've taught me about kindness and being willing to share; they've taught me that I am an eternal child and that I never want to grow up.