April 18, 2003 - 6:41 p.m.

Phew!

Well, the annual egg hunt here at the house passed without bad weather or catastrophe, and I actually managed to stand back and not go into total nanny mode. Today was chilly (in the 40's around party time) but perfectly sunny. When the wind wasn't blowing, the sun felt warm and it was pleasant out. Sadly, most of the time the wind was quite present.

Susan hid more than 350 eggs for the 25 children who attended. It was a sight to behold! The kids picked over our large yard very quickly! Even the eggs that we adults thought had been hidden very well (under a bucket in the sandbox and such) got found within about 8-10 minutes!

Many of the kids came in their adorable easter clothes and brought cute baskets for collecting eggs. Our girls, who, according to their parents, wore nothing but dresses up until about two years ago, refused to dress up and wore jeans with cute, flowery sweaters instead. It's funny how quickly kids' attitudes about clothes change!

This year I was determined to not play a key role in the festivities. It was weird to be leading the kids in games and songs while they waited last year with all the parents watching me. Plus, I left last year's event pretty exhausted and didn't want to repeat the experience. I still helped out today, but in a more subdued way. I let the parents intervene in the few arguments that broke out and tried to enjoy myself a lot more. With so many people around, I sometimes feel the need to perform or impress with my childcare skills, and that's just silly. So today, I chatted and joked with the kids, hung out with the adults, and still lent a helping hand when it was really needed.

My favorite moment of the day was very unexpected. One of the children invited is developmentally disabled. I was walking past him when he dropped one of the plastic eggs he had been shaking. Due to his physical limitations, it would have been very hard for him to bend down to get the egg, so I stopped and picked it up for him. As I crouched down and handed it over he lit up with a big smile and then nearly knocked me over as he gave me a huge hug and kissed me on the forehead! This child is pretty withdrawn and has only been in my presence three times counting today, so I certainly wasn't expecting the sudden affection. It was so sweet! I think he was just grateful to have the egg back so he could rattle the things inside. I am often unsure how to interact with disabled kids like this one, and it was really nice to make him happy in such a simple way. It meant way more than a hug from any of the other kids would have.

There were also several babies and toddlers at the party so I got to enjoy the antics of really little ones. That's something I miss from when I worked in day care. There is something very special about making a baby smile or coo, and I don't get to do it very often. As much as I love the abilities and charm of the older kids in my care, it's nice to get to interact with younger ones as well once in a while.

today's project: I am headed to a party at my friend Stacy's house

musing about: what to wear to the above party

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flutter back - fly ahead