So where am I going with this...
Sometime back, we were asked or maybe we just volunteered. Who knows. With this kind of assignment, does it really matter?
Katherine took 10 months off work to be with Augie in those early days. It was certainly a financial sacrifice and took a lot of juggling to be able to do it, but I think everyone would agree, it was the best decision ever. Unfortunately, her school wouldn't allow her to take anymore time off and guarantee her teaching position there,so off she went mid-August to teach full-time again. Her assignment of being away from Augie may just be tougher than ours.
Our assignment, and we chose to accept it was to have Augie 9-10 hours a day, 5 days a week for 6 1/2 weeks. His daycare center, that has been carefully chosen, does not accept children until they are one year old and walking. Piece of cake, we thought.
Augie arrives with Daddy and/or Mama around 6:45 am. We have breakfast, play, read books, go outside to watch the birds, have a snack, play some more, read some more and repeat again and again. This takes up about 10 minutes. I think we had forgotten just how short the attention span of an 11 month old is.
To say this job is easy would do a disservice to all parents who go through these early years. It also, would be an out and out lie. It is the toughest thing we have ever had to do...physically and mentally. You have to put 100% into this baby thing. It is not for the faint of heart or weak in body or spirit. There are days when we wonder if we can do it one more day. And then, we get a good night's sleep and we are ready again.
The reward is the warm smile we get each morning and the laughter and giggles throughout the day. It is seeing him respond to a new toy or a book or our voice. It is hearing new sounds come from his tiny mouth. It is watching him clap his hands in delight or to the sound of "pat-a-cake". It is watching him learn to navigate those first steps.
We didn't have these moments on a regular basis with Sojo. We had to settle for Skype and summer visits to catch up with her development. Don't get me wrong...I love Skype and am grateful beyond measure for it. Yet, I see the difference and am grateful beyond measure for this opportunity to be with Augie in these early months. I am grateful that his parents trust us with their most precious treasure. We know that he will not remember these days, but our pray is that somehow we will leave a positive imprint on his little heart that he will carry with him all the days of his life. We will tell him stories and these days will become memories through the stories, if not his own.
Yes, we are blessed beyond measure through these tiring days. Now, I must go...he is taking a "power nap" and I should be doing the same. I will need more strength for the next shift.
Much gratitude for his Granda who loves him as much as I do and is a tremendous source of help. I often wonder how I raised three kids while he worked. Oh yeah...I was 45, 42 and 35 years younger than I am today.
Thank you God for the gift of these precious grand-children of ours.
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