Mortified

When you register your child for day care – you get bombarded by information. Medical history forms, emergency contact forms, who is authorized to pick up your child, what your child is authorized to do, what you’re supposed to bring, rules, drop off times, fees, medicine forms you have to fill out on each visit and when, penalties – all collapsed into a 45 minute meeting.

Last week was the first week Elliott went to day care and today was my first day back. Two days last week, he came home with different clothes on. When I picked him up – nobody said anything about the dirty clothes. (They were very helpful about the forms for his Mylicon and Desitin.) Now – we leave his bottles there. Formula is provided and they wash the bottles there. We also leave his pacifiers there and they get washed also.

So, last week I kept wondering if they washed his clothes too. When I registered him, I remembered being asked if he had any skin sensitivities to laundry detergent. I peeked in his diaper bag Friday afternoon – which I leave there and periodically restock – and saw clothes in plastic bags. I pack clean clothes in ziploc bags. I meant to take the diaper bag home with me on Friday but I forgot it with not enough time to turn around.

So. Imagine how mortified I was this morning when I dug into his diaper bag to find plastic bags of dirty clothes and bibs. The clothes looked fine. Some of the bibs will need a soakin’.

I wanted to crawl under a blankie and die of embarrassment.

I keep telling myself – I get a week to make mistakes and get in the groove. I say, “I can’t be the only one to mess up.” I thank God I brought him fresh clothes today and didn’t have to endure a “Your child has no clean clothes/I thought you laundered them/This ain’t the Four Seasons, lady” conversation.

Still – I fear I may have already made Elliott the smelly kid. Not the note I wanted to start my first day back to work on.

Ack!