My days are long. They are filled with laughter and frustration, tears and smiles, singing and screaming. I go home exhausted to my core and knowing that tomorrow brings another day of the same routine. I am a child care provider. We laugh, cry, sing, dance, run, crawl and experience so many small victories and defeats. My students become family, my colleagues become friends and my heart fills more and more each year. Each class brings new challenges and each class leaves the same small hole in my heart after they have moved on. I am a child care provider.

I change diapers, put on band aids, clean up meals and snuggle after naps. I share moments, take pictures, tell stories and make memories. My students may not remember me and the projects we made may end up in a box hidden somewhere in the attic. I am a child care provider. I devote my time, patience, and love to my classroom. I strive to create a safe space where my students can explore and learn while there parents feel peace while away. I create bonds with families which turn into life long friendships. I watch my little babies turn into little people and still feel that pang in my heart when they say my name for the first time. I am a child care provider, but I am also so much more. I am a nurse, a janitor, a cook, and a teacher, but most of all I am their friend.

I am not perfect. I get frustrated, I get overwhelmed and some days I question why I chose to devote myself to such a tiring and under paid profession. Then I watch old videos of my students walking for the first time, I babysit for families and see my sweet one year whose now three tell me of their adventures. I still remember their birthdays, their parents names, what books they loved and what songs I would sing. I am a child care provider and I wouldn't trade a moment of it for anything.