Proof That I’m The Best Mother in the History of EVER

Ever since the day I showed up sputtering on the doorstep of Eastwood Christian Children’s Center, covered in snot and frustration, and dragging a three-year-old Zoë and a newborn Grey, my children have gone to Eastwood’s Parent’s Day Out Program. Every Tuesday and Thursday for the last eight years I’ve dropped them off at 9am and returned to retrieve them (whether I wanted to or not) at 2 0’clock.

ECCC is a wonderful place. There are four classes, all adorably named after birds, and the kids progress from the Chickadees, to the Bluebirds, on to the Cardinals, and finally the Eagles, after which they fly the nest and head to kindergarten.  ECCC offers kindermusik, art projects, and tons of outdoor play. In the Cardinals class, the three year olds even learn to bake under the direction of Boo Gordon, who is arguably the best baker in Nashville. I think this is fabulous. As an erstwhile songwriter, I’m all about the marketable skills. Oh, and also, hello cookies. Really, the only problem with Eastwood is that it’s only a two day a week program. They’d like to run a full-time daycare, but there’s some code nonsense about needing a particular number of little people potties. I’m telling you, if I’m ever rich, the first thing I’m gonna do is pay for a renovation and buy them as many toddler-sized toilets as their little hearts (or whatever parts) desire.

Seriously, these people do a better job of taking care of my kids than I do. I know this because they send home these wonderful little notes at the end of each day. The notes outline what the children did, what games they played, what books they read, whether they slept or just rested at nap, and whether their behavior qualified as “WOW”, “Working on it”, or “Uh-Oh.” These things are keepsakes. Take this one, for example, from Juliette’s class yesterday:

OH YEAH. I’m DEFINATELY keeping this one.