Before the Duggar family amassed nineteen tots and prior to John, Kate and their eight little starlets, there was Bonnie Kreshel. Long before having more kids than you could count on two hands equaled star power, Bonnie and Ken Kreshel brought up a brood of 11 children…and did it without cameras, a house fit for a king or a big kickback from book deals. As an obnoxiously inquisitive child, I asked Bonnie often why they had so many kids and her response was invariably the same: She had as many as God gave her. And, although God gave her 11, she did not stop there… she also ran an in-home daycare that my siblings and I frequented for before and after school care.
I often forget that I went to daycare because going to Bonnie’s house was like going to grandma’s… it just always seemed like if fun was to be had, it would happening there. While some of her practices may have appeared to outsiders a bit unorthodox, Bonnie was a master at the craft of motherhood. From using trash bags and a hose to create a home-made slip n slide to sliding down the hill on large pieces of tin foil, Bonnie proved that with a little creativity and a big heart, even the simplest of things became magical. She served up fresh dusted donuts and dutch babies for breakfasts. She knew that it was important for kids to start the day with a warm, homemade breakfast and that not all kids were into the standard breakfast fare — to those kids she offered tomato soup and mac and cheese. Having raised 11 of her own children, there were always containers full of prom dresses, random outfits and of course, Czech Days dressings to play dress-up and make-believe. Her life resume made her the perfect fit for such business and in my eyes, she had certainly perfected her profession. After doing the daycare ditty for quite some time, Bonnie taught and coached our high school cheerleading squad. Although she no longer teaches in the classroom, Bonnie will always be a teacher, mentor and difference maker to me… and many others, I am sure. And, perhaps if it doesn’t work out for Kate Gosselin this season on DWTS, Bonnie could fill her shoes. I certainly wouldn’t put it past her.
Before I had Barrett, as I wrestled with returning to work once Snowball rolled into town, I would often think of the time I spent at Bonnie’s house. I realized that while it was probably difficult for my mom to return to work and to entrust us to someone else, we were none the wiser. I don’t remember shedding tears when we were dropped off for the mornings and post school hours {in fact, I think I cried more when we weren’t able to go} and I don’t remember thinking that my mom or dad were “absent parents”. Instead, I felt like we were lucky to have an alternate place to play, learn, laugh and grow. Although no one could ever take the place of my mom, Bonnie was the best stand-in my folks could have found.
Obviously, we didn’t jump on the daycare train for this round but perhaps it’s because we just couldn’t find a Bonnie for Barrett.
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