sand in my shoes.

Okay, okay I know I always harp on about how much I love to write and how I will one day be a working-bona-fide (read-paid lol) journalist but the end of 2012 and beginning of 2013 has been a welcome turn of events for me. I quit my retail job (having been there for a longgggg five years- I am pretty nifty at folding jeans by now) and applied for a job at my local preschool. A change is as good as a holiday, right? Right! Having no experience handling little human beings I prepared myself for a massive leap, headfirst into the unknown. And I am happy to say I'm loving it! Each day spent there brings new things, new personalities, new bonding experiences and new challenges. And a whole lot of sand brought home in my Nikes. Emphasis on challenges. I am learning patience, negotiating skills, how to listen, mediate and change a dirty nappy all at the same time. I have only been working with tiny tots for a couple of months or so and one of the biggest lessons I have learnt so far has to do with credit. And credit paid to where credit is due. I think the amount of hard work that goes on behind a preschools closed doors is unbeknown to anybody and everybody who doesn't work in the childcare industry. I take my hats off to mothers working at preschools around the world who then go home and look after their own children. This is no sit-on-your-bum office job, preschools are full on! These women (and sometimes men) are often forgotten amongst the celebrities, sports personalities, police, doctors, teachers and firefighters. And I am proud to say I amongst a team of inspiring women who are literally raising our future. I was going to say excuse the pun possums, but I won't. Because that is a true fact. I still remember my preschool teachers Marilyn who had the softest, whitest skin and Angie who had the thickest and curliest hair. These two ladies shaped a big part of my early years and I still have fond memories of the time I spent as a tiny human at Pegasus Preschool.

So here's a big thank you to all the preschool teachers out there- you are appreciated!