Friday, March 20, 2015

A note to every working mom's wing-woman...

You're more than just a daycare teacher, you know.
You care for our most prized possession, every single day.

The words thank you don't seem to do justice to how thankful I actually am, for YOU.  Every morning I wake up, I pick my daughter up out of her crib and I cling to her because I know in a few short hours she'll no longer be in my arms.  She'll be in yours.  

It's a love, hate relationship I have with you...


I slide on my pantyhose, throw on my heels, then out the door we go for yet another whirlwind day of car seat carrying, daycare drop off, office talk, conference calls, meetings, daycare pickup, baby food messes, bath time & bottles.

But when I walk in the room to drop my little girl off, you are there.
Smiling.  Full of energy.  Ready to love my daughter for those hours that I cannot.


I envy your t shirt & jeans.... 
But what I envy more is the time you get with her.

In the beginning, it was brutal.  Handing off my tiny baby to a strange woman I didn't know.
A process some would call in-humane.

I hated everything during those weeks.
I hated my pencil skirts. I hated the commute to work. I hated my job.
I hated the guilt.

But most of all, I hated you



But now, I adore you.
You're my right arm...



You're my wing-woman.  

You're there with my daughter, 5 days a week.  Loving her, comforting her, teaching her.
You allow me the opportunity to wear my badge with pride, not guilt.

Working mom.


 I've learned that that badge can carry a lot of weight.
The weight of guilt.
But you, you make the guilt a little easier to carry.


I'll never forget the day I got a call that my daughter was sick and needed to be picked up.
It was the first time I, as her mother, wasn't able to rush to her side.

My husband called me later that afternoon, and it was a call I'll never forget.
 I broke down in tears as he described the love you were showing our sick little girl.


You were rocking her ever so gently, stroking her back, comforting her as she was throwing up.
Just the way I would.

I realized in that moment that I love the love you show my daughter, in the moments when I cannot.

While it ripped my heart out to not be there with her, I knew you were.

So until I can find the words to convey the profound appreciation I have for you...
THANK YOU wing-woman, will just have to do.

(Lara's Daycare Teachers, aka, My Wing-Women)


No comments :