Ding and Dong in Spring

Well . . . Spring is in full bloom! I don't know about you, but for me, it seems that from the time we set our clocks forward till juuuust about now, everything gets a wee bit off-kilter. I'm sure there is some scientific explanation and internal clock analysis that has been conducted by someone, somewhere . . . but my disdain for the monotone NOVA exploration into such matters causes me to just say, "Here we go again!"

All that to say that we're sorry we've not blogged these past few weeks--but the world seems to have stayed in place while we were away, so WHEW!

So back to the business at hand. Last week was another first for my family. In June of 2015, I closed my childcare center--the very one my parents started when I was just four years old. In all my time as a child, and then as the owner myself, I had never known a "spring break week" at home with my own mother or my own children. All of my memories were of tending to the dozens of my other children while school was out just like my mother did before me. We already had a lot going on, but when school was out, our after-school yay-whoos were on the scene full-bore! What fun activities could I plan? Maybe a field trip, project, or special guest? Don't forget to bump up the food order and adjust the lunch schedule!

And some years my thought turned to, "They will be here alllllll daaaaaay."

I loved my job for sure, and I rarely gave my own children's situation much thought. It had been my childhood situation too, lest we forget. My children shared me in huge doses, just as I had done with my mother. That was just the way it was (no therapy required by the way--let's not jump off that drama ledge).

Spring Break 2016 was the first spring break I had ever enjoyed with JUST Ding and Dong. And it. Was. Fabulous! Getting to spend time with my children before the famously hot weather invades our mere being . . . going to the zoo with only two children in tow rather than a herd . . . not having to call and "check in" with my staff if I left for an hour . . . and actually getting to sleep in a tad! I'm most certain going back to school yesterday was more heartbreaking for me than it was for them.

Well, you all know my reputation: yes, we still did our chores and kept a reasonable bedtime. Everything wasn't out the window--but we got to just enjoy one another in this season of getting back in gear after the doldrums of winter. It was simply . . . nice.

Nothing especially earth-shattering, but for our family, it was new and exciting. Just the simplicity of being with one another. I am grateful every day that God has put me in this place at just this time in my children's lives, and all is well with our souls. Folks ask me from time to time, "Do you miss it all?" And my reply is always the same . . . .

"I miss the children very much. I miss the close knit relationships with each family. And I miss my staff; boy, did we share some fun times together! However, I don't miss it all together, especially now that I know what I was really missing out on all those years. But would I change any of it? Give up all that God had planned for me, our family, and His mission? Never."

Here's to Spring!

--Stacey