In just a couple of days Ivy League West Preschool and Daycare will be closing it's doors. I want to thank all the wonderful children and parents that have been a part of our lives for the past three years. It's been an honor and joy to share a small part of your lives through play and learning.
My family and I will be relocating back to So. California. My parents are in their 80's and while healthy and cognitive, they are slowing down becoming a bit overwhelmed by the day to day minutiae of life. So we are moving in to help and most likely at times to hinder. Life is messy sometimes, this is one of those times.
Combing two households, four adults and two children (and a stray cat that comes and goes) is no easy feat. Add to it the stages of life, two elderly, one mid-life, one Peri-menopausal and two entering puberty (one boy and one girl to really shake things up). Then there are the other stages; two retired (no schedule to speak of), one working full-time, one stay at home mom who homeschools (something I'm not sure my parents quite grasp), volunteers and likes to grow her own food and two children who are marching to the beat of their own drum (each different). The challenges ahead are monumental.
If we survive (and I have no doubt we will) the rewards will also be monumental. My parents and I have had our share of challenges. I wasn't the worst child in the world but I know I'm responsible for at least half of the gray hairs (not that my mom at 80-something has any gray, thanks to a four week standing hair appointment). Those two have always stuck by me through thick and thin. Sometimes voicing their disapproval loudly and well, disapprovingly. Sometimes biting their tongues until they bled. (figuratively speaking, of course...at least I think). So the short story of why we're moving in with them is that I owe them big time. Of course that's what I tell people who have no time or interest to hear the long version.
To you my captive audience, to you I give the long version. (lucky ducks!)
We're moving in because even though I'm raising my kids differently than I was raised, my parents were really wonderful parents. They were involved but not too much (except during my early 20's, really that was a bit much.) They worked hard and gave us some pretty memorable vacations. They weren't just wonderful parents, they are great people. People I would keep in touch with even if we weren't related. They shared so much of their lives with me and I view it as an honored that they want to share more. I think my children will benefit from being closer to them and seeing them more than two or three times a year. I want them to know that you don't discard people because their old or sick or challenged or too young etc. People have an inherent value. These two people in particular who sacrificed for me to have a better life than they did, these two people who love us unconditionally, (even while at time disapproving of my actions) are especially deserving of our love, compassion and patience.
Leading by example is not always easy but it's the right thing to do. Wanting to do something (not just to provide a lesson) makes the right thing to do a little easier. So it's not such a long version after all. We're moving in with my parents because it's what we want and it's the right thing to do
Ivy League-West Educational Services will continue to provide support to parents, teachers and children. Details of on-line courses and workshops in So. California will be posted here in the next couple of months. Our Facebook page will remain open as a source of support and inspiration. So stick around. The changes are monumental and so will are the rewards. I guarantee it.
Alida
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