Behind You (gxg)

E - is for Elephant

Sunday was a hangover.

Monday morning shift meant spilled cheerios and crying toddlers. 

To be honest, I totally understood those kids who were crying. You have a totally relaxing and fun weekend and then you have to wake up early and go to work. I would be crying too. But in all seriousness, I feel for the kids, it's not easy separating from your caregivers, even if it's only for a couple of hours. Mondays are tough.

On the bright side, Lilah and Uri would be officially joining the Playful Pebbles family at lunch time. Unfortunately, nerves started settling in too early on since I had no idea how to go about that potentially more than friendly outing. Let's just say I kept my mouth shut about the topic around Rosie; no need to fuel the fangirl fire.

Time flew by as it usually did, the mornings were filled with sing-alongs, outdoor play, and some finger painting. Basically, each activity only took about ten minutes to complete, while the cleanup usually took double. When it was finally time for lunch, hot dogs and rice, we heard the front door buzzer signaling the long-awaited arrival. All thirteen pairs of eyes, half with their spoons still in their mouths, turned their doe-eyed gazes towards the door in anticipation. I moved slowly towards the door in order not to cause a frantic stampede. It's amazing how delicate this whole front door situation is for kids; its like a ticking time bomb. Some of them can even sense when a car drives by, like meerkats or something!

As I opened the door, I was suddenly greeted by an unfamiliar smile, multiple random jewelry, and a pair of flashy sunglasses. This is not Lilah.

"Hi there darling, I'm Uriel's grandmother, Anna Wilkovitz." The older lady introduced way too loudly. Uri peeked his head from behind the lady and did a quick little wave. "Sorry for the short notice but my daughter had to go in to work last minute. They always seem to need her, well what can you expect with such a talented young woman" She continued as she came into the daycare, Uri lagged behind. "Yahla Uriel, bo chamud" (C'mon Uriel, come cutie), Anna beckoned in another language.

Uri paused in the doorway unsure of himself. To enter, or not to enter. That is the question.

I knelt in front of him and looked him right in his worried blue orbs and gave him a warm smile.

"Hi Uri"

"Hi" he looked at his light up Velcro shoes; they had Thomas the Train on them.

"Do you want to come in and have some lunch with the others? I promise we can go play after, there's lots of legos and trains" That got his attention. I bet it was the trains, or my winning personality.

He nodded and cautiously shuffled towards his grandma who was chatting away with Rosie about registration forms and the day fee. I showed him where he could hang up his Lego Batman backpack and led him over to the table with the others. They were all quiet, assessing the newbie.

"Hi I'm Ryan"

"I'm Uri"

I handed Uri a plastic yellow chair and Ryan scooted over to make some room as I went to bring him a plate of some fine daycare grub. As I was in the kitchen, I quickly checked my phone to see if Lilah had sent me a text, but there was nothing. Had I done something wrong?

A few minutes after Uri settled and Ryan had already showed him his matching Thomas the Train shoes, Granny Anna dear came to say goodbye. "Be a good boy, and Ima (mom) will pick you up, give me a kiss" she bent down to smother his face in hers to which he squirmed. With that, she skedaddled out of there like a colourful twister. Grandmas, eh?

After lunch it was time for some quiet carpet time and reading while a few of the staff got out the nap time cots and others went to go potty. Once everything was set up, the now somewhat drowsy toddlers wandered their way over to their spots where their blankets were. Unfortunately, Granny didn't pack one for Uri, so we let him use a spare astronaut blanket. He seemed content with that.