Today is my last day at the preschool where I have worked since February 2009. It was a job to have while I was in school and it has been an amazing place for me. My boss has been amazingly flexible with my weird school schedule. I have learned so much and I know today will be a bittersweet day. I am going to miss the kids and the people.

That said, I am so ready for a new challenge and to close this chapter in my life. For today’s Five For Friday, I’m writing about the things I’ll miss from this place. As excited as I am to finally leave my job behind, it’s been a good one for me and it’s not going to be easy leaving it all.

Five Things I’ll Miss

1. The kids. One of the best things about working in daycare is the relationship you build with the kids. I worked with children aged 2 months to 5 years old and saw so many of them go through all the stages. One of my favorite kids, E., I met when he was just 19 months old and now he’s a big, bad 4-year-old with attitude and the most inquisitive mind I’ve ever met. I have seen so many of the kids go through so many changes and they all hold a special place in my heart. In my old preschool, I was stuck in the “baby dungeon” and wasn’t able to meet many of the older kids. Here, all the kids know me by name and like me. And when a kid likes you? You know you’re golden. I am going to miss these little rugrats. I’m going to miss the questions, the hugs, the baby snuggles, the open-mouthed kisses, the teasing, the smiles, the giggles, the “brattitude” as my good friend likes to say, the wide range of personalities. I’m especially going to miss how one can never have a bad day when surrounded by children. They won’t let you.

2. The camaraderie. I have a great group of friends at this place. Some I developed really close friendships with and some I developed great working relationships with. For the most part, I get along with everyone at my job. I can work with them all, although there are some I enjoy working with more than others. They have shown me unlimited support with my schooling, graduation, and job search. With each interview, I was wished good luck and asked about it the next day. They have been excited right along with me for my new job. I am hopeful I will find the same type of friendships and camaraderie with my new co-workers but they have set the bar high.

3. Knowing how to do every job. I’ve never been at a place where I feel so comfortable. I can step into any room and know the kids and the schedule. The kitchen is my home where I make breakfast every day for the kids, unload the lunches and breakfast (for the next day) that have been delivered, and even do lunch, if needed. I’ve become highly flexible and it’s a skill I can take into any future career.

4. My work BFF. I don’t even know how to put into words how much my relationship with this girl means to me. We were put in the same classroom, me as her assistant, for over a year and it was the best year I had there. We are so similar and she taught me so much. I firmly believe I would have passed my teaching internships had I learned from her first. Yes, a twenty-something with only her daycare certification taught me more about teaching and handling conflict in the classroom than veteran teachers with their Master’s degrees. She has been my go-to girl for venting about work and life, being my support system when I needed her, and always being someone I can laugh and joke with. I don’t know if I’ll ever have a work relationship like the one I had with her. What I do know is that our friendship will not end when this job does.

5. The easy hours. For the past year, my hours have been very hit-and-miss. On the one hand, it was great when I was in school and had afternoons free for classes and homework. On the other hand, it makes for super crappy paychecks. I leave before noon most days and it’s been a super easy schedule for me. I’m going to miss those afternoon naps.

I received some really great questions from you guys! I picked the first 5 to answer and will be back with more as the questions keep rolling in. Here we go!

1. What about VEDA are you most scared of? And most excited for?

VEDA stands for Vlog Every Day in August and last year was its “inaugural year”. (At least for our group.) One day, Ashley sent a tweet that she was thinking about vlogging (video blogging) every day in August and soon we all jumped on board. I wasn’t able to vlog every single day, but I did manage to get a vlog up most days and it was just so much fun. It was fun to meet new faces and put some of my fears out there on Youtube. So when another chance to complete VEDA happened? I was all for it.

I don’t think I’m really scared of anything, more nervous of how I’m going to keep up to make my own vlogs and comment on the number of VEDA-ers that have signed up. I think it’s around 50+, which is way more than we had last year. It was hard enough to keep up with those so I’m just worried about how I’ll be able to keep up.

As for excited? I’m just excited to do it all over again and hopefully make all 31 days of vlogging. I start my job 10 days after it starts so that’ll be an adventure to see how I can keep up, but I’ve already committed to it so I’m going to try my best! (Side note: you can’t cheat and make all your vlogs on the weekend or in one day. That’s why it’s called Vlog Every Day in August. Not 31 Days of Vlogs in August. Hehe.) I’m also excited to meet some new faces and reconnect with old ones. I think the most fun part of VEDA was meeting new people and getting to know them better through their vlogs. Vlogging is just totally different than blogging because you get to SEE people – their expressions, their intonations, their thoughts spoken aloud.

I’m just so stinkin’ excited for VEDA! Who else is doing VEDA?

2. Why are you waiting for your wedding day for your first kiss? Sex, I get; living together, I get. But the kiss? And do you think this will make it even more difficult to find someone?

Waiting for my wedding day to have my first kiss is an idea I’ve been toying with for a long while. It’s not a novel idea, but it is definitely different. And it’s not something I’m as tied to as remaining a virgin until my wedding night or waiting to live together until we’re married. I don’t date much, so I don’t know what will happen once I do find someone I want to date seriously and contemplate marriage with. Will I remain true to wanting to wait until my wedding day for my first kiss? Maybe, maybe not. For right now, I’m leaning towards no. But that could always change. It’s just not something I’m as tied to as remaining a virgin or not cohabitating.

3. What are you most excited about with your new job?

I am excited about so much! Making a lot more money than I do now, having health insurance, being able to buy things like a CAR and a new LAPTOP, being able to support myself, learning so much about a job field I badly want to break into, working with a great group of people, NOT WEARING KHAKIS AND POLOS TO WORK EVERY DAY… do I need to go on? Mainly, I’m excited to start my career and leave a job that isn’t challenging me anymore.

4. Will you continue to live with your mother once you begin your job, or will you look for your own place? It seems like the two of you are a good fit!

I am definitely not interested in moving out any time soon. I love living with my mom and living with her will help me out a lot. Florida has a high cost of living so finding an apartment on my own would be very hard. Plus, it’s going to help out my mom a lot so it’s just a win-win situation all around. And I had a terrible roommate experience the first time around so I’m nervous to repeat that process.

5. Where are your glasses from? They’re great!

Ha! This question is funny because I feel like my glasses are too big for my face. I got them for like $100 total at Visionworks from one of their stacks of glasses. They’re not designer or anything. Just a pair of clunky black glasses. I desperately want new ones.