Las Esquelas

This morning I had the first low-key morning at home with the girls in weeks. Ellie and I played together, baked, and painted. I enjoyed trying to reestablish a sense of normalcy. Hazel had a better night last night but still woke up and still feverish. Today she was shrieking a lot which showed us she must be feeling back to herself at least a little.

This afternoon I had my first 4-hour Spanish lesson. It was fun to be able to communicate some, though I know how much I don't know too. I have five pieces of tarea (homework) to do tonight. My maestra was impressed with how much I remembered from over ten years ago in high school, and I surprised myself as well. It got me excited to continue to learn.

This week Michael goes in the morning and I go in the afternoon. Ideally they'd like us to both go in the morning. It is safer to travel together and all the classes are in the morning which includes an intentional break time with all the professors at the seminary. So, we have to make a decision if this would work for our family and how.

There is a preschool/daycare only two blocks from our apartment. Our work office is just around the corner from us so regardless of where we move in the future this preschool is very close to our office. We finally took a tour of it tonight. They are very strict about security and therefore wouldn't let us tour it while children were there during school hours. Ellie had fun playing while we toured and conversed with the director of the school. It's a mix of Montessori and Spanish/English immersion. I think it could be a great fit because I like the Montessori model and like that it's not 100% Spanish or 100% English. After our experience last week with Ellie struggling because of her inability to communicate even simple things with childcare workers, I am thankful that there will be an English and Spanish speaker teaching her class, especially at the very beginning.

There are five other children in the 2-3 year old class, a perfect size. There are two babies, a 12-month and 15 month-old, so Hazel would be the youngest baby out of three in the baby room. I'm nervous about Ellie starting school, but she seems excited (for now). She knew we went to school today and seems excited about the prospect of her "own" school with new friends where she gets to "play with balls and paint," and Hazel gets to come too. Obviously it could be a lot different when we drop her off on Monday morning, but it's a good sign that she's so interested.

Michael and I are supposed to be in class for four hours, so most likely we will drop the girls off at 8 and pick them up at about 1, right after they eat lunch. That's five hours. I'm having a hard time with this. This would be the routine for the next two months, possibly even after we begin our job. It would give us afternoons and evenings together, which is great, but five hours feels long especially after finally having a good morning at home. I teared up at the preschool thinking about it, after being away from my girls all afternoon. I know that we will all adjust, but it will take time.

I knew it would be hard to imagine leaving both girls, but I am realizing how hard it will be to leave Hazel. She'll be 10 months in a few days and it seems so young. We don't have a lot of time to look for other options for daycare, but thankfully this school seemed very secure, clean, organized, and couldn't be in a better location, and the teachers seem to know what they are doing and have good credentials.

I have to trust that this is going to work for all of us and know that it will take time to adjust. This is part of our new life and I am trusting the Lord to take care of us in the big things and the little, including keeping my girls safe and secure in a nurturing environment.