a change in perspective

I never look forward to the daycare pick-up. Hmmm, let me rephrase that. I like the daycare pick-up itself and getting in a little chat with Shar or some of the other daycare parents and getting to see my kids for the first time since breakfast. I do not look forward to the time between picking the kids up at daycare and when we sit down for supper. We are all tired, and sometimes we are all grumpy. Walking home from daycare sometimes gobbles my (limited) patience whole. Here's how it usually goes.

Noah talks my ear off about his latest writing project or thoughts on videogame characters. If I have the sled, Hanaa rides along fairly contentedly. Molly will jump on and off the sled making it run into my heels or throw giant chunks of snow onto the sled provoking indignant screams from Hanaa. That girl can scream. Molly will completely ignore me when I ask her to stop and bursts into tears if(when) I raise my voice. While Hanaa screams and Molly cries, Noah will continue his monologue and expect me to respond at appropriate intervals.

(Long story short - it is a GONG SHOW! It is a kind culture shock coming from an office where I do not actually have to speak to anyone all day.)

Once we get home, I usually let them watch TV for half an hour while I make supper. It keeps me sane-ish.

So today, I arrived at daycare with fear and trepidation. Noah has been having a hard time lately getting back into routine and has been really exhausting to be around. So, I thought I might be arriving to a tired/angry Noah, which is even worse than the scenario described above.

But, he had a good day today. He was happy and relational. He had stories to tell.

Noah told me about his new comic book; Hanaa sat on my shoulders and sang "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer" in my ear, and Molly just jumped around and played with snow balls and interjected little stories when Noah paused for breath. I walked home from daycare listening to three happy voices all singing their own tunes at the same time. Cacophony? perhaps, but I could pick out happy little melodies from all three.