Lolly Life

 

Evelyn the Magnificent

 This one is THE one. In this picture she is demanding my attention.

She is not graceful with her request yet, as you can tell.

She's the ONE you have to know where she is at all times. Then you have to check to be sure she is still there. It's its quiet... you're too late. Just pack your bags and go home. You have failed!

She is the one that can be in two places at the same time. She moves faster then a ninja and can draw in a black permanent marker faster then you can whistle. She is petite, but her voice is big. She hasn't learned personal space yet and there is no time for long hugs. She's too busy!

If you have food... she has food. If you have gum, you need to share it with her. If she finds a toy she likes. It becomes hers for the duration. Don't touch it. EVER! If you tell her to sit, she does for a second... then you are looking for her again.

She will always have a purse, play phone and a lovey nearby. And if you even look at it like you are going to touch it, you will recoil in fear before she is done with you.

Our Evvee is an awesome kid. You just have to be one step ahead of her or you are left in the dust!

Spring Forward my ass!

We are losing an hour tonight!
Why can't we lose that shit during the work week!?!?

Circle of Life

This is a picture of my daddy. He would have been the oldest in our family. The other picture is my grandboy and currently the youngest of my family. It's a true picture of The circle of life. I am sad that my grandchildren will never get to know this wonderful man that walked this earth before them, laying the path to their existence. I will do my best to love my grandchildren for not only myself but for him. He would have loved them all. Life goes on.

I'm over the government handing out money and Unemployment checks!

 I am exhausted! Just like all the other daycare owners I know... and I am on a group with 21,000 of them. We haven't been sitting at home collecting unemployment. Childcare teachers have been DEDICATED to be sure others could be at work. We never closed. I have never been in guaranine. Hell that would be a vacation!! I put every family before myself and my health those early months when we didn't know a lot. We were essential! We were front line workers that didn't get the recognition for what we were doing. You want to see the work force collapse? Close all the childcare centers. We are the backbone to the working parent. We cared for the children of Doctors, Nurses, Firefighters, Military, Police.... Single parents. Parents that would lean over my desk and say "But your not going to close right?" They brought us Sanitizer, Lysol wipes, disinfectant stray for months to help out. I spent $300 on a thermometer because it was the only one I could find. We went food shopping at 6:30 a.m just to find bread, hamburger meat and milk was impossible to find... I have 17 bathrooms and toilet paper was no where to be found! Luckily I had a supply company that kept me stocked up. But I had to lock all my supplies up! Schools closed and teachers refused to go to work... so we picked up the slack and had childcare providers overseeing Zoom classrooms and virtual school so the parents weren't trying to cram it all in the 3/4 hours they might have in the evening with them. I have not closed or had a vacation. Went anywhere or done much of anything for a full year! I have kept the business going so that all my clients could keep a job.... I have paid employees through a pandemic... never shorting them the hours AND I gave raises. You do not for a moment understand what owning a business is like through a pandemic. Working through one is hard enough... owning a business is a nightmare. But we have kept smiles on our faces and kept going for or kids, our families, our staff and our community! So I can understand the burn out. But if your an adult who struggles all the time anyway, the answer is not to get ahead just to take a break.