All Good Things Must Come to an End

I have joint custody of Cambria. Not with my husband, but with my friend, Anne, who watches her during the week. We drop Cambria off with Anne at 7:30 am and pick her up at 4:30 pm. Cambria goes to bed at 7:30 every night, meaning Anne spends 9 hours a day with her and we spend 3 (during the week). I haven't added it up – as a working mom, you simply can't go any further than this with the math. Seriously. I've thought about this a lot and I get to this point (9 vs. 3) and then stop. I can't go any further or I would probably sink into a deep depression. All working moms know this going into it, so it's no big surprise, but actually following through with the math simply isn't worth it. However, I'm pretty sure it's equal amounts (when you figure in the weekends)....hence the joint custody.

Don't get me wrong, if I could choose anyone in the world to have joint custody with, it would be Anne. She is one of the only people that I agree with her parenting style 100%, and if you met her kids, you'd probably agree. They're polite, well-mannered, smart, but yet funny, quirky in their own right and all developmentally way ahead of where they should be. All moms know that it is very rare to find someone whose parenting style you completely agree with. I mean, I love Heidi and she is one of my bestest friends, but if I lived at her house, I would go crazy...or at least deaf.

Here’s the problem. Anne is going back to work. The perfect part-time gig fell in her lap and since her youngest is now in kindergarten, she accepted. I can’t blame her – it is the perfect job for her. But, who will I now share joint custody with? This began my week-long (felt like month-long) journey into childcare research, calls, tours and advice. I had never researched childcare before because Ryan and I knew we wanted Anne to watch our baby even before Cambria was conceived, so I had nooo idea.

I’ll save you all the gory childcare details, but let me just say this:
-I don’t know how people afford to send more than one kid to childcare. I mean, I always knew childcare was expensive, but holy hell!
-Apparently not all childcare centers provide lunch, meaning some crazy moms and dads out there pack their children’s lunch every day AND don’t get a pay cut for doing so.
-Getting a 14-month old into a childcare setting is more difficult than a newborn baby.
-I would never leave my child at a couple of the “top” centers in Omaha.

Luckily, after a week of nightmares, stomach aches and stress, we found the next-best-thing-to-Anne place. Ryan’s work has its own childcare center and it’s fantastic. However, I will miss my joint custody partner. I don’t know much about the new place yet, but I’m pretty sure they won’t dress her up as a princess, feed her brownies or teach her how to sing important songs like "Boom Boom Pow."

TSIB
-M