When I was pregnant, I received all sorts of advice from all sorts of people, mostly along the lines of "You won't sleep for the next 18 years, until they go into the army, and then you definitely won't sleep." While I have found the sleep thing to be true thus far, I would advise future parents that the early childhood care-taking situation and his/her education will not just keep you awake at night, but will make you want to cry.
Last year I erroneously allowed myself to get trapped in three months worth of list making and obsessive thoughts regarding Gan; I have promised myself that this year the process will be quick and clean and simple. I am looking for a place that is close to the house, has a good reputation among local parents, feels light and spacious, and has services until approximately four in the afternoon. This morning before work I wandered up and down throughout my neighborhood, checked out four different nursery schools and now have options in my head with which I am comfortable and basically happy.
The big question mark remains the reformation from the Jerusalem Municipality, changes in the afternoon schedule that begin in February 2013: the price of the two to four pm time slot ("Tzaharon") will decrease dramatically, and they promise what they call a "hot meal" every day. The Municipality however refuses to reveal the intended menus, and Raphaela's lunch may well become a sandwich and perhaps a hot vegetable, as opposed to the fully hot and protein filled lunches she currently receives.
From the moment of her birth, my daughter has been an "Eater," and a sandwich will simply not be enough to get her through the day.
So I've made my list, I will check it twice. I would like to think that it is a sign of my maturity and increasing experience as an Israeli parent, this new sense of calm and acceptance. Either that, or I am simply a naive American who made aliyah 16 years ago, and wishes to believe that it has to work out for the best.
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