So today, I am REALLY starting to feel better.  The congealed mess that was coming out of my ear has finally started to break up and dissipate, my throat isn’t as sore, my hearing is better, and I have more energy.  Two weeks into this, and I am starting to feel good again!  Now summer can start again in earnest!

Other good news–I went to a “Starting your own business” seminar today, that was hosted by the VT Small Business Development Center.  It was great—lots of practical information, resources, and support.  I have to register my trade name, but I still don’t know what to call my business.  I’m open to suggestions:)

Also, the thing that has been weighing on my mind in a big way, is this little situation with H’s former school.  H has been out of school for nearly 3 weeks now.  Just recently, I found his former teachers and the owner of the daycare on Facebook, and I friended them.  We had all discussed keeping in touch, and somehow Facebook has just become one of the easiest ways to accomplish that.  I got together with H’s former teacher Ashley for a playdate earlier this week.  She watches Jacob, who was one of H’s classmates (and who,  in a weird twist of fate, also lives in our old condo downtown).  Ashley, Jacob, H, and I all went to the park together and had a wonderful time.  The boys were thrilled to see each other, and H was so overjoyed to see his beautiful Ashley once again.  Ashley and I talked at the playground—-and she told me the real scoop behind the school’s closing.  I knew that there were financial hardships, and I also knew that making payroll was a challenge for the owner.  But I DIDN’T know that the owner did not pay any of the teachers for the entire last month that the school was open.  The teachers knew they weren’t getting paid and knew that they would never see the money (the owner told them as much), but they kept coming in to work day after day, so they could support the families and the kids that went to the school.  My heart broke when I heard this.  I cannot imagine being in that position.  And Ashley confided that they all were tempted to talk to the parents about it, but they felt it would be unprofessional to air that dirty laundry so openly.  None of the teachers are in communication with the owner at this point, which is a big deal because they had all worked together for the past 11 years.  Now their friendship is over.  It is sad.

I keep thinking about it, and I keep feeling angry.  I keep feeling like I should do something.  We paid nearly $200/week to the preschool, with the belief that the money would help pay the teachers.  The teachers never got that money.  So even though the school provided the care that we paid for, the owner DIDN’T pay the teachers, and I am REALLY PISSED OFF that our money was not spent in the way that we thought it would be.  Working in a daycare is hard work, and those ladies deserve every cent of their hard-earned money.  One of the teachers is pregnant—and now she is scrambling to find a job.

What would YOU do?  Nothing?  Something?  I’m friends with the owner on Facebook; I friended her before I knew all of this.  I could talk to her about it, but I am fairly certain that she would be unreasonable about it.  So I don’t think that would work.  Maybe I shouldn’t do anything.  Maybe we should all just move on with our lives.

But every time I look at those last little art projects that H brought home from school, I think about the teachers who helped wipe the paint off his chubby little fingers, complimented him on his artistry, and lovingly placed his little paintings in his bin at the end of the day.  I think about their dedication, how they wouldn’t walk out on the kids and the families, how they basically volunteered their time, talents, and patience for the last month the school was open.  Their talents are valuable, and it breaks my heart that they were treated like they aren’t.