Thanksgiving Perspective from a Claire’s Day School Administrator

Thanksgiving. A time to pause the chaos of the everyday, concentrate on all that matters most, and ring in the season of giving.

For me, Thanksgiving has always been a time of reflection for the year that have passed. A reminder to focus my energies towards all for which I am grateful, rather than dwell on the negative, ultimately insignificant thoughts or events that might be clouding my mind.

This year, more so than ever, I have much for which to give thanks.

Last week, we held our annual informational session for current Claire’s Day School Parent’s Day Out families to learn about their child’s preschool options for next year, and I was overcome with emotion. We have always held this meeting the Thursday before Thanksgiving, but last year, we did not.

The reason, for which the thought still makes my stomach turn, is that we were still unsure if we would have a home. So many things had to go right in the two short months we had between learning of our eviction and closing on our new property – licensing, safety inspections, funding – a new challenge arose every single day, and time was not on our side. In the end, we closed on time, but not a day goes by that I don’t give thanks to the many individuals who willed it to be.

After the closing, though, my anxieties were far from over. What if our families did not follow us? We are nothing without them, and with a hefty new mortgage, we didn’t exactly have much room for a rebuilding period. To add to that, we were trying to “sell” a building that we weren’t even in yet, nor did our families have tons of opportunities to see it. I was also pleading with our southeast Dallas families to make a longer commute.

I was asking for a lot of faith.

My asks and prayers were answered, as the vast majority of our families chose to make this giant leap with us. Not a day goes by that I do not give thanks to all of them for giving us a school, allowing myself, my mom, Claire, and our wonderful teachers and caregivers to make a living.

And, speaking of our staff, I am unbelievably grateful to them, for not only moving with us, but also for their longevity well before a move was even in the cards. Without their dedication day after day in caring for and teaching your children, we would not have built a reputation and following over the years making it possible for us to make such a major change.

Finally, I am thankful for my job – not just the fact that I still have one, but the actual job itself, which I have grown to love, and have become quite good at if I do say so myself. Right out of college, I worked for a tech company in Austin, and it wasn’t for me. I was trying to sell products I didn’t understand, and I found the culture to be cold and snarky. I dubbed myself a lousy salesperson, but I was wrong. It’s easy to sell what you believe. I am so lucky to be a very small part in an atmosphere where fostering a child’s social, academic, and cognitive development is the ultimate goal. I certainly didn’t choose a career in education to be wealthy monetarily, but though it may be cliché to say, the job itself is its own reward.