THE END OF AN ERA

Friday was Grayson's last day at the daycare he has attended since he was 4 months old. After lots of anxiety and loads of prayer we have figured out other arrangements for a little while. It was a little more sad to me than I expected it to be. On his final day we made a big thank you card for all of the staff (everyone there has cared for Grayson at some point) and cookies for everyone.

Grayson arrived earlier than usual because I needed to get to work before 8, which is unusual. On the way I explained that it would be his last day ever going to his daycare and that he would be saying good-bye to his teachers and friends at the end of the day. It is very quiet there in the morning so drop off wasn't hard.

In the afternoon I left work and headed over to pick him up. As I got closer to the daycare I started to feel a little more sad. Everyone there has cared for Grayson at some point in his life. The administrative staff have always been so nice and caring towards our family and they provided amazing support when we lost Faith and Avery last year. When I arrived all of the teachers and staff starting giving me a hard time about leaving and began sharing with me how much they loved Grayson and how much they were going to miss him. It was nice to know that he wasn't just another kid to them and that for all of this time he has been cared for by people who love him.

Grayson was happy help me collect all of his belongings and pass out hugs to everyone. He did seem to understand that Friday's good-byes were different than previous days, but I am not sure if he actually realizes that he will not go back there.

Tomorrow we begin a new chapter. Grayson will be spending his Monday's with the Hantla family who are very dear friends of ours. Their daughter is a few months younger than Grayson and they are in our small group at church. Grayson enjoys playing with their daughter and I think this arrangement will make for a more enjoyable day for Grayson. On Fridays I will be keeping the Hantla kiddos at our house with Grayson. Wednesdays? Well, I still have to work out some details there. Grayson will continue to go to preschool on Tuesdays and Thursdays as he has since September.

I am looking forward to this new era. Again, I think the new arrangement will be better overall for Grayson and allow me to spend some more time with him. On another note, potty training is going extremely well. Grayson is having very few accidents and just this morning finally gave in and starting going #2 on the potty. PRAISE, PRAISE, PRAISE!!!