When we went looking for daycare when Lindsey was pregnant the situation seemed dire. Most places didn't take care of infants, and the ones that did were often very expensive and we didn't know where the budget for daycare was going to come from anyway. We went to see one place that was deep in Cedar Park that was the only option within our price range, and when we left Lindsey cried about the idea of leaving Finn at such a depressing and dirty place.
Meanwhile Rene had a backup plan via a woman she met years before at the Sandcastle Resort at the pool. At one point this woman- Barbara- hit it off with Rene and talked about her career watching children in Leander. Rene kept her number and she had an opening and we quickly agreed to take the spot without any other consideration as she was cheaper than other options and she was close to the house. Rene later said this encounter was the most worthwhile part of her Sandcastle investment as she would watch Finn until he was more than two years old.
During Finn's first year the time Barbara kept Finn felt like the only periods where the world would stop spinning. She worked with us when it got harder and he needed a helmet. and the older girl staying with Barbara was Finn's first childhood friend. Barbara discovered what TV shows Finn liked the most, and got him to eat things I could never get him to eat. She got to the point she loved him as much as she can any child she watched over: her and her husband Russ felt Finn was near the "top" of their all-time list. Usually once kids got 3 years old she pushed them to a daycare, but she was willing to make an exception for Finn to keep him for as long as possible.
When Finn first started saying words she was one of the first words he said. When he got to the point where he would list his favorite people she would always be top three: dada, moma, baba. There were a few days when I would drop him off at her house that he would pitch a fit, and at least one day when he was angry I was leaving him there, but most of the time he would just march in ready to go eat his breakfast. It was like a second home to him, and when COVID or weather made it so he went a week without seeing her he was always looking for her.
When COVID came the entire situation with Barbara became worth its weight in gold as it minimized Finn's and therefore our exposure, and we didn't have to juggle "COVID protocol" like every daycare was doing. There were times other daycares were closed when she stayed open, or times when we had to quarantine (especially when we actually got COVID early on) and she was laid back about the timing to bring him back or what testing was needed. Many of the horror stories we heard from other parents we completely avoided thanks to her.
Eventually though Barbara started to have an issue with her shoulder and needed to have surgery. This escalated in 2021 to the point where she was going to maybe have to shut down for good. It went from "in a couple months" to "needs to be next week" very quickly and so we had to scramble to find a new place. Luckily in the time since Finn was born a new fancy daycare opened down the street and it had open slots. After a visit he started the very next week, officially transitioning from being a baby to being a little boy.
Barbara for her part still wants to be in his life, and I plan to make that happen. She wants to see him this weekend just because she will miss him, and as soon as Sandcastle is put back together she will be invited for a trip. But this week marks the end of an era, and the start of a new life for Mr. Finn.
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