I work in a daycare- in the baby room actually 6months to 1 1/2 years old i care for them nearly every day.
I watch them go from toothless blobs to walking and talking (albeit a little incoherently). But when I get them they’re mostly bald with big loving eyes and hands that they’re not quite sure belong to them. Then before I know it I’m watching them run away from potential diaper changes with screams of mischief or throwing tantrums and shouting for mama. I get onto them for getting into things they aren’t supposed to and i soothe them back to sleep if they wake up before they’re ready.
Soon enough they’re Toddlers and i watch them go on to the next classroom.
I only see glimpses of them then, at pickup or walking from the Nap Room back to their classes. Their blurred eyes and messy hair struggling to stay in a single file. I wave with a big smile and in turn they slow their walking and maybe give me a high five
And I wonder if they’ll remember me
probably not
But I’ll remember them for years to come and wonder how their first day of kindergarten was or how their last day of senior year went and if they’re married and have kids of their own. If they turned into happy adults,
as happy as the toothless blobs they used to be.
