IDEAS THAT WORK
Marian Parrish
October 1, 1981
They come to the church a few at a time on this warm September morning, small children and their mothers. One child clutches a teddy bear, another trails a tattered blanket behind him while his older sister skips confidently on ahead. As I watch, still other mothers appear, some carrying infants and diaper bags. One has her hair up in curlers, a trench coat thrown over her pajamas. It's nine o'clock. All of them are on time, for this is the first day of the eighth year of our Mother's Day Out program at the church. I have come as always with a sense of gratitude and some amazement at what is happening. Our program is licensed to care for eighty children. We have never advertised, yet every space is filled. There's even talk of adding another day to accommodate more mothers. For five hours our staff will provide a safe and loving atmosphere for these children while their mothers do the things that are best performed without a small child's presence. One woman is planning a special lunch out with her husband; another will go home to take a nap while her baby is cared for; still another is planning to paint a fence. All of them will return on the dot of two o'clock to pick up their children. They'll be refreshed, happier, and definitely grateful for the time free from child care. Ten years ago the program didn't exist, and probably the need didn't either. Our church, surrounded by cornfields and peopled by a congregation in which everyone knew or was related to his neighbor, struggled to meet the challenges of residential growth. Townhouses and new homes sprang up daily. The number of people increased, and I agreed apprehensively to do some calling for our minister. On my first visit, I discovered a young mother sick in bed, her ...
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