Day 10 | Temporary After-School Arrangement

M had agreed to take care of Mantam after school till 6 in the evening. Although Mantam were coming till the bus station by themselves, M was anyway going to school to pick her twins M1 and M2. So she told me that she would bring all 4 kids along with her and take them home. Her home is very close to the station. She told me that she served her kids lunch after reaching home and she would also serve Mantam. She was sweet enough to call me beforehand and check about any food preferences and/or allergies etc. I told her that she was free to serve them anything that she gives to her kids. M and I were both apprehensive about this arrangement spoiling our relationship. So we agreed that we would call it quits if any of us is not comfortable for any reason, however trifle it may be and we must not have any hard feelings.

Mantam started going to their home after school and initial few days were good. Even before Mantam could tell me anything, M herself confessed that M1 and M2 are not happy with the idea of Mantam coming to their house everyday. They would ask her why Mantam were staying with them daily. M tried to make them understand by saying that Mantam’s mom goes to work and that’s why she would be taking care of them till evening. They asked her why they couldn’t go to the school care like other kids of working parents did. M told me that they would feel sad once Mantam left in the evening but they were not pleased with sharing their toys etc.

We talked to Mantam and told them that M1 and M1 had never stayed out of their home and they were possessive about their stuff. But they would eventually get used to it. Mannu always is game when she realizes that she is the mature one and her peers are childish. She jumps at such opportunities to sort of handle the situation like an adult. But Tammu is very sensitive and she disliked being at their home as M1 and/or M2 were rude to her at times, sometimes they would tell she was to listen to them as it was their house and not hers. I would tell Tammu to tell M aunty straight away in such situations.

With passing days, things did improve and they started growing fond of each other. Then came two weeks of Spring vacation. I spoke with M about the charges and she then said a bit more than what the day care was charging for full day. It was a huge amount and we thought that sending to school care was a better option as they would have so many activities lined up, we would also get the rebate and finally we were worried about the kids creating a ruckus if they had to spend days together. M said she didn’t mind at all and said that had she been in our shoes, she would have probably done that too. But we told her that we would send them back to her once the school re-opened.
Now school care was fun and all that jazz. But for some reason, Mantam did not eat anything there. Whatever I packed would come back untouched, even water bottles would return filled to the brim. That made us really worried and I even took them to a doctor. Doctor said that they were healthy but suggested to give them worm medicine. After the vacation was over, they went back to M’s house and I was relieved that atleast there they would eat properly and M would ensure that they drank water.

The school was to shut down on 17th Dec and Abbas got hid DL about 10 days before that. M asked me what we were planning for next year? She said that she was ok to take care of them after school or she was also happy if we decided to put them in school care as Abbas could now easily pick them up and she knew that it would also save us some money. I told her that I would discuss with Abbas and let her know. We also spoke to Mantam about this. While Mannu was ok with anything, Tammu was reluctant to continue at M’s. She always had the instances when the twins didn’t behave well with her and she was adamant on going to school care. We said that she had to then promise that she would eat well in the school care and drink water.

From Dec 18th onwards they started going to school care and this time they are having a ball there. They are enjoying a lot and also having food without any issues. Touchwood!

But we will always be thankful to M for agreeing to take care of my kids when we were in dire need of that cushion. She always treated them well and just before the school ended, there was get together at many of their friends’ homes. M was kind enough to take Mantam also along and they really enjoyed these outings. She even took them to a Magic Show at library and a birthday party which was at 5 PM and we went to pick the kids from there straight away. She also been very helpful to us in many ways. Even now, she told me a hundred times that we must feel free to ask her for any help or send Mantam once in a while just like that as her kids are missing them badly.