We're In!

Recently, Elsie went from having ZERO preschool prospects to having two really great ones, overnight.

A friend from the park has been very patiently reminding me that her son's preschool, let's call it "Adorable Church Preschool," has an opening for a girl!  I kept responding with genuine interest, but then coming home and getting stymied by my inability to face anything beyond my simple daily plan (park or beach, grocery store, dinner), and never following up.  Grief's a bitch that way.

Finally, the teacher from Adorable Church Preschool called me and we set up a visit.  The morning I took Elsie to preschool for the visit, I was blown away.  It was absolutely wonderful.  Small, homey, and wonderful.  Elsie clung to my leg for all of 30 seconds, then she was off like a shot after those kids.  She roughhoused on the indoor jungle gym with the four-year-olds.  She sat herself at the art table and pieced together mosaics.  She cried when it was time to leave.  I have never seen my daughter roughhouse!  I was duly impressed. 

The teacher was lovely.  She shares my low-key, play-based philosophy on children's education.  She was gentle and kind and clearly had the place under control.  Though I did have some reservations about the whole co-op part of the deal, still not knowing how much I want to work in the coming months, everyone seemed truly lovely.  I was sold. 

"I'll send in my deposit this week."  I told them on the phone. 

I hung up the phone, sat down at my computer, and there was an email from Hub regarding that OTHER preschool.  The one with the rejection letter of many months ago.  We'll call it "Ivy League Preschool."  (Not affiliated with an actual ivy league college, just fancy and prestigious for a preschool.)

Ivy League Preschool has a spot for Elsie!  The email read. 

Now, I may make fun, but Ivy League Preschool is a really amazing preschool.  It has some advantages that I haven't seen anywhere else, for instance, a huge and beautiful natural playground.  The kids spend about 45 minutes outside every day, rain, shine, snow, or whatever else.  It is also so close to our house that Elsie can easily walk to it on her own two feet, and we don't even have to cross a major road.  It has an incredible reputation, and also wonderful teachers and a play-based curriculum and all the warm fuzzies of a really great preschool, be it larger and better-endowed.  Unfortunately, it is also extremely expensive.

Long story short, I agonized over this choice for several days.  I lost sleep over it.  And all the while I stressed, I kicked myself for caring so much.  "IT'S ONLY PRESCHOOL!!!"  I'd groan.  "PRESCHOOL!!!  This is totally ridiculous!"

Ridiculous or no, I was a mess about it.  I finally asked Hub.  He hadn't been there to see Elsie take to the Adorable Church Preschool like a fish in water, so he gave the obvious answer.  "We should choose the Ivy League Preschool because it is what you wanted from the start, and we'll never get into it again if we say 'no' now, and it opens up the option of a really robust elementary education if we want it.  Besides, parental involvement is optional, not required." 

"Are you sure?"  I asked

"I'm sure."  He said.

"It's expensive."  I countered.

"We'll make it work."  He said.

So that's that.  I made the horrible sorry-I'm-a-jerk-but-we're-backing-out call to Adorable Church Daycare, promising to tell all my friends about them, and we sent our deposit to Ivy League Daycare.  And now I really need to get a job.  A job that only requires me to work mornings between mid September and early June, with weeks off in Feb, April, and at Christmas.  Ha!