Ch-ch-changes...

We’re finally moving the kids from their daycare in Bucktown to a center by our house. It’s the right move, both from a convenience and financial standpoint, but it is far more emotional that I had expected. 

It all happened rather quickly. Now that Nick is old enough (they only take 15 months and up), I'd been meaning to call the daycare in our area. At our block party, we spoke to a neighbor who sends her kids there, so I asked her the tuition rate. The answer would have made me call that second to get on the waitlist if it weren't a Saturday afternoon. Instead I called first thing Monday morning, expecting to be added to a lengthy list. Turns out a family had just moved and she could take us in September if we committed that week. 

We went out that night for our tour, and I'll say you get what you pay for. It's not that it's a bad center (obviously or we wouldn't go through with this)--in fact, had a center like this been available to us three years ago, I would have chosen it over CLP. But, it wasn't and now we've become accustomed to the CLP's frills...field trips to the major museums and parks, Parents' Night Out, yoga and music lessons, etc. None of that's happening at the new place. And it's a little more crowded--the toddler room and preschool room are actually just in separate areas of one main room. So, Lainey and Nick will essentially be together all day--which I kind of like, but wonder if Lainey will feel the same. At the end of the day, the scene we saw on our visit was pretty much the same thing we see at CLP pick-up--kids coloring, singing songs and laughing. So, we decided to take the plunge. We may have fretted a little more, but our neighbor happens to be the assistant principal at one of the top Chicago high schools. If she thinks this place is good enough for her kids, it eases a lot of anxiety for us.  

So, there’s the obvious emotions around the kids well-being, but it goes deeper for us. Keeping the kids in Bucktown kept us connected to our former world. Even though we’ll still be downtown every day for work, our bond to the city gets a little more distant with this switch. As long as we still walked Milwaukee Avenue to the Blue Line every day, I still felt like a city-dweller and a part of the neighborhoods where we lived for almost 10 years (longer for Mark). I mean, we've even kept our Bucktown dry cleaner! 

I just have to remember that when we first moved to Edgebrook, I was nervous and scared that I was going to hate it. And it turned out to be the absolute best thing for our family and I love living here now. Making this change will make life a lot easier (good-bye morning traffic) and will help connect us more to the area where we've chosen to raise Lainey and Nick. So, deep breathes, unclench the hands, and get ready for another new chapter...