Goodbye is Never Easy

This week is the last week for William.  He's been in my daycare since he was about 18 months old and he has won my heart over the past 4 years.  He is smart, funny and you can hold a real conversation with him.  Important qualities for a home based child care provider!  He also has a wonderful mom who I have come to appreciate as a good friend over the past few years.  I will miss her being a part of my everyday life through William.  I also have the privilege of knowing William's father and grandmother for almost my entire life.  I still feel like a little kid sometimes when I see her dropping or picking up William, and it's a good feeling to have roots that deep. A hug from her is sometimes just what I need, and I'll miss that too.

Over the past 12 years of doing child care, I've said goodbye to lots of kids.  And I remember them all.  There is always a piece of your heart that belongs to that child, no matter how long they were there or what the circumstances were for them saying goodbye.  Some of the most special memories are of the children that are with me for the entire time between birth and school.  So much time passes, so much love is created in your heart for that child and they become an extension of your family.  Really, they are family.  That is one of the hardest and best parts of my job.  Welcoming a child into your heart and your home for so many years and then knowing that the time will come when they move on to school and so many new experiences that little by little you become a memory.  A good memory, but still a memory.  And then the process continues to repeat itself..

In honor of such an occasion, I made a delicious blueberry banana bread.  Oh, and I finally have decided to try something a bit more advanced than Picasa for my photo editing so this is my first Lightroom edited food pic!



I was happy with how it turned out - the editing and the bread!  Now, of course it wasn't vegan at all, but this was for the kids, not the hubby and I.  I found the recipe on Stonyfield Farm's website, Banilla Blueberry Bread, and honestly I made not one change.  Shocking, I know.  I wanted it to be the perfect breakfast.  And judging by the reactions from the kids wanting seconds almost immediately, I'd say I hit my mark!

A last photo with my whole little group before everything changes tomorrow...



I'm gonna miss that kid.  A lot.

I hope you don't mind me going on and on about all this mushy stuff!  All part of my homemade life...

Sheri