My husband and I are currently in a child-care crisis. We are fortunate enough to call Grandma and Grandpa our day care providers. While I am at work, Maggie gets a whole-lotta love over at Grandma and Grandpa's house every morning. It is an ideal arrangement. However, we don't really have a backup plan when Grandma and Grandpa go out of town. I will usually take vacation days to cover the gap. Somehow Grandma and Grandpa got the dates mixed up when they bought their plane tickets to Florida, and instead of going for one week, they signed on for three. THREE! Upon hearing that news a jolt of panic ran through me. Needless to say Jim and I are patching together a haphazard sort of child care schedule.

Last week Jim's sister came over every morning to play with Maggie. She hollered "MAGGIE MAGGIE MAGGIE!" as soon as she stepped in the door. Maggie, in turn, flashed a huge blinding smile and thus began the fun. I had to go to work, but I didn't want to leave. They were having too much fun. But duty calls, and I tried to leave, and turned around four or five times for another kiss, and then I finally bit my lip and bolted out the door, and tried not to think too much about what I was missing. Unfortunately for us, Jim's sister also bought a ticket to Florida to join her parents, so that came to an end last week.

This week my sister Betsy was generous enough to lend a hand. My daughter can't say "mama" yet, but she can say "Betsy!" or rather, "Dah-see!". I am trying not to take it personally. Again, I found it hard to leave to go to work. I wanted to stay and play. I went through the same routine. Going back in for the 4th and 5th kiss with a knot in my stomach, and then finally sucking it up, waving bye-bye, and walking out the door to go to work.

For the second half of this week and next, I get my wish. Having run out of child-care options, I am using vacation days to stay at home in the mornings until Jim relieves me around lunch time. It's nice to have extra down-time with my daughter. To get into the rhythm of each morning. I like to have my coffee and read books to her, and follow her around as she runs from room to room looking for things she is not supposed to play with.

At this very moment, she is in her room listening to "Free to Be You and Me" and adding her own sound effects to the story of Dudley, who knocked over the sand table. I know this might come as a shock, but I am just crazy about my daughter. I mean, she is just really the cat's meow. I'm going in. I am fully aware that the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence. Especially when it comes to mothers who work outside the home or inside the home. I do like my job, and I like to work. However, for the next 6 weekday mornings, I get to be a stay at home mom. I must admit, I really lilke the sound of that.