The Sweetest Things

Working in a preschool is hectic. It's crazy. It takes a certain amount of energy that I never realized I had. From the moment I walk in the school, my day is non-stop…. until nap time. Nap time is that small break in the day where the children calm down, the noise stops, and the energy is turned to a low level, and if I'm lucky, they all sleep and their energy level is off.

At nap time that I am able to talk to each child as I lay next to them, patting their back and helping them fall asleep. It took months to earn their trust when I first began the job; months for them to feel comfortable and safe falling asleep next to me. But now, after almost eleven months, some of them are so comfortable they like to fall asleep on me, holding my hand, or they won't sleep until I am close to them.

It is during these moments where the day slows down, that I am able to look at them and really appreciate the tiny people that they are. Each child has something so incredibly special about them, and their lives are only just beginning. Being in Aurora reminds me of the beautiful innocence only childhood holds, and how as we become adults we lose that. The world becomes complicated and hard and the things that once seemed so simple, are lost in a memory of the past.

Spending all day with tiny kids is a reminder of the excitement that life holds, the fact that each day is a new start, a refreshing beginning. It's a reminder that life is sweet and sometimes the simplest things are all we need.