And now for something completely different. From time to time, we will post a creative piece related to parenting or teaching that seems topical or just plain strikes our fancy. This is the first such post. It was written by Partners with Parents Educational Director, Will Craig, who is, in our opinion, a talented, if very occasional, creative writer. He penned it during the time that he ran a small preschool out of his brownstone, likely some time in the winter.
The Zipper Worker
I'm a zipper worker. It's what I do. This job title is accurate in all of the blunt force simplicity with which a 3 year old will tackle-hug you. I know, because that's who told me I am "a zipper worker." Day in and day out I pull zippers up, and I pull zippers down. If you need a zipper fixed, unstuck, or simply circumvented, I'm your guy.
Now, you might think I'm preparing to launch into a treatise on the zen of childcare. You might think I am intending to imply that my societal importance is inversely proportional to the status of my work. I am not. Instead, I want to launch a diatribe against winter and its ravages.
Do you know how
long it takes to get three preschoolers dressed and out the door on a winter day?!? I suppose you do, since only a parent would have made it past the words "3 year old" on the 2
nd line. Our schedule is completely blown by 8:30am. And the physical toll! Remember, each zipper starts about 16 inches off the ground and is usually a moving target. What a pain in the. . . hmm, let's see . . . knees, back, shoulders, fingers and brain. Speaking of the pain of winter, I once nearly severed two fingers tying thirty pairs of first graders' ice skates at Wollman Rink; but I digress.
Before I had kids I kind of liked winter. Winter represented to me a scant few weeks of true briskness, maybe some extra hustle to get indoors and shake off the chill. It did not really affect me. It was just a simple reminder to appreciate the easy weather of April through November. Now that I have kids and I earn my income taking care of preschoolers, winter has become a nasty perpetrator. Winter is NOT my friend anymore, and neither are its zippers.
Z.W.
If you are interested in submitting a creative piece that has to do with parenting or education, please e-mail us.
