First Nursery

When you walk into the room at 0715 with your arms lade with the things you might need during the day, the night girl is very happy to see you.

I walk into first nursery at 0715 on Tuesday, June 4 with my arms full of stuff I may or may not need during the day or even the year. But at least I have it. The night girl sleepily hands over whichever baby she is holding, happy to be literally and figuratively handing the babies over to me and heading to bed. The babies , Alexander (A) and Kressida (K) are playing on the floor, still kind of sleepy.
Alexander has been here all of his 6 months. He wasn't given a name when he was born so he is called by his last name.  I think his name means slim but he is quite the opposite. Typical. He's a soft, lazy baby. And spoiled. He has a hard time letting Kressida be held cuz he wants to be. He loves bouncing endlessly in his jolly jumper but he doesn't know what to do with his arms in there. It looks very awkward.
 Kressida is about 7 months old. She's very used to a cradle board and is consequently quite stiff. She has a very ready smile and laugh and is content to play on the floor or hold her own bottle ot fall asleep by herself in her crib. She has a strong dislike for carrots and a mild dislike for peas. Unlike her 1st nurse partner, she loves to eat but it takes her awhile to figure out how to open her mouth if you wait too long between bites.
 By 8 o'clock when the bell rings for breakfast we who are being fed are already at the table eating. Alexander has just started eating actual baby food and has yet to figure out how to actually open his mouth and eat. You can feed him the same bite about 6 times and still have a spoonful left over. Naptime is whenever we get tired (0930 ish) to 1145. (My break is 1030-1145) After lunch is over we load up into the bumbo seats in the wagon that takes us everywhere and go for a ride. Sometimes we ride around the kitchen and chat with Head Cook and Kitchen Assistant. Sometimes we go outside and play on the grass for awhile. Sometimes we just go back to our little room and play in our swings or jolly jumpers or on the floor till we get grouchy (around 1400) and go to sleep. I get another break from 1500-1530 and when I get back I wake them up and give them baths.
 Our room is all the way at the opposite end of the hall of the kitchen and dining room, across from 2nd nursery. Well actually it's two adjoining rooms, one with rocking chairs and many toys and activities and one with cribs and a dreaded changing station and a big sink that is our bath. Through the not-so-soundproof walls of our play room we can hear the big kids playing outside and the windows are full of handprints from the ones who think we are more interesting than their toys.
 By 1800 we are bathed and back in the dining room being fed again.  Or pretending to be as sometimes the case might be for some of us.
 After supper Papa takes control of the wagon's destinations for a few minutes and I use this time to dash back to first nursery and fix bottles and empty the diaper genie and get things ready for the night. Usually by 1930 when the others are finished devotions and are coming noisily down the hall, the babies are sleeping and my only duties left for the day are half hour checks till 2200.

On Sheep and Taking Liberties

 In the midst of our work we do have time for fun. Saturday (the  8th) morning by 0715 there were 4 of us heading out in our muddy little Nissan Titan. Two hours, a stop for gas and for McDonalds later we reached our destination. Several handshakes and name exchanges later, there were 20 of us girls heading down the trail into the canyon. The trip down consisted of polite chatting and a stop in a small cave to sing a song. Extreme brakes were needed at some points as the downward clime usually pushed you into a run. At the bottom, the white ruins on the side of the canyon wall awaited us but after a few glances and exclamations the river was the main focal point and the occasional jeep splashing thru it was a favorite topic of conversation. After a few minutes of splashing and shrieking and bemoaning the fact that we had to hike back up, we started climbing for the top and thinking about what awaited us up there. Food. Or that's what kept me going anyways. And the thought of cold water to drink. The hike back up, tho hot and tiring, only took us about 15-20 more minutes than the run down which had been about half an hour. So for those of you who have forgotten what you learned in school, that was about 47 minutes of glancing longingly toward the top of the cliff and exclaiming every few minutes how out of shape you are and vowing to get into better shape after this. Actually I'm not sure if those last 2 statements are true. They just seem like they fit. I guess I'm taking liberties to put thoughts into peoples' minds that may or may not have ever been there. Anyways we all reached the top eventually and performed our search for water which we found with the help of some vehicle keys and also L whose familiar face I was happy to see. Soon we loaded up the vehicles again and headed for the most important part of this whole deal (for me). Lunch. After devouring our food and after a few impatient time checks on my part, we stepped into our truck and headed for home where we arrived by about 1430. The few who were left at home were happy to relinquish their duties to us for awhile and have a much needed break.
 Back in the good old days people used to grow peaches and sheep in the canyon. Ok so technically you don't grow sheep but I think the sheep did grow down there except maybe they worked off all the food they ate climbing the path up afterwards. Also the little holes in the ground aren't made by ants like they look like they would be and seem like they would be with all the ants crawling around them. They're made by locusts. Don't ask me the full story cuz I can't tell you cuz I don't know it but when the locusts come out of those holes they go into the trees to dry off. Or something like that. Yeah I know. Those comments were brilliant and enlightening. You are welcome.
 As you may have guessed, the meeting and being with many new people was not the highlight of my day.

On Little Ys and Big Whys

Picture me, down a long hall in a dark room, surrounded by 4 little sleeping faces. Shouldn't be too hard. Got the pic? Ok good. Sleeping might be the only thing these faces have in common besides being in this place at this time. Jessie* and Jolene* are sisters but a shared last name is where the similarities end for these two. Jessie is a vivacious and sweet one year old who loves to be hugged and held. This place and our sister home not an hour away are pretty much the only homes she has ever known. Jolene is a different story. At two she is one of our naughtier kids. It doesn't bother her to pinch or hit or hurt someone else anytime she wants. You can literally watch her face soften as she drifts off to sleep but a troubled look still creases her face in slumber. Apparently she comes by it honestly. 1-year-old Yo* is a spoiled, charming little boy with a silly grin and wonderful hugs. His favorite people are Mama and Papa and often it takes one of them to quiet him down before he sleeps. And then there is almost-3-year-old Sammy*. She was a sweet little girl who only stayed a few days but apparently had been here before. A quiet child, she often sat on your lap or played peacefully by herself. Or with Landon* who made fast friends with her when he tirelessly pushed her in the swing for an amazingly long time. Darling little Sammy who understood way too much for her age, who cried and wrapped her arms around me when I told her she was leaving us.
 How do one and two year olds know enough to understand about their hard lives? Why do they have to understand that much? Why do they're lives have to be this hard? Why do these kids have to be here with 11 mothers instead of just 1?Why did I get so privileged to be able to have a wonderful childhood with loving parents who took care of me? Why, why, why???
 Why can't life ever supply answers to the questions it makes us ask?

*not their real names

On the Consequences of Life

It doesn’t matter if one is tough, they still get to a person. They come in many different shapes and sizes. They can be to big people or to little people. They can come after a few days or after many days.  They can be big ones of big consequence or big ones of small consequence or any mixture of big and small and consequences of equal or unequal sizes. They can happen to fast or too slow. They can happen unexpectedly or you can be expecting them yet not be ready for them. They can last for a few days or weeks or sometimes months, years, and even for eternity. Sometimes they are unknown. I have experienced them all. I am well versed in goodbyes. 

But goodbyes mean I am privileged enough to have loved and be loved.