The Beginning

I am a single mom who has managed to find myself on my own when, or shortly after each of my 3 children were born.

My third child was born in June, 1998. One sunny afternoon, as I was sitting on the floor in our living room with my new baby, I realized with 100% certainty, that this was what I had wanted all of my life. All I ever really wanted to be was ... a mom.

My mind went to work to find a way to become a stay-at-home-mom. The more I thought and planned, the more I started to believe that I could do it. I immersed myself in 'Oprah' and she had guests that spoke directly to me and gave me the key to believe that this could happen.

Then ... I said it out loud. I spoke my desire to a group of friends that inspire and encourage me. When I spoke from my heart that I truly wanted this, all I heard was their belief that "Yes - you can do this."

The how to do this was a process. I listed all the ideas I had, as to how to support myself. I had some different ideas, but the one that surfaced to the top, was running a daycare from my home.

When I was young, I knew that I wanted to be a teacher when I grew up. My childhood dream was to become a teacher and move back to Saskatchewan (we moved to Edmonton when I was 9 years old). I had moved back to Saskatchewan with my boys when I was 27, but after unsuccessfully trying to 'teach' my own child when he needed help at school, I soon realized that being a teacher was not my calling.

But ... being around children and having an opportunity to give them a start before they went to school felt close to my childhood goal. I had been working for 20 years and knew what it felt like to be a working parent. I knew how important stability and reliability was in a caregiver. And I knew that I could provide that. That became my mission statement - to provide "infanthood to independence" childcare. I believed.

I visualized success. I pictured how the days would go. I could see the children. The stability. The routines. The quiet spots for homework. The craft areas. My success at making this come true was becoming a reality.

I made a plan. I phoned my employer and asked about taking a one year leave of absence to see if I could support myself with this new income. I asked ... and I received that year.

For the first time in all of my years of single-parenting, I asked for child support. And again ... I asked ... and I received some assistance (for a while, anyway).

I had RRSP's to fall back on, if the going got tough. I had a job to fall back on. My security net was in place. So ... I placed an ad in the paper and my journey began.

My youngest son was 5 1/2 months old when I started my daycare. He knows of a life no different, than a life where he shares his mom, his toys, his house and his life.

And that ... is how my story begins. At age 38, I was embarking on a brand new life. And I've never looked back.