How, and why, did it ever get this bad? It was Christmas, just over a month ago, when I proclaimed my love for them to anyone who asked. Now I want to sue their asses. Not for the money, just because it would inconvenience them.

To bring you up-to-date: It started when we had a disagreement over potty-training my 3.5 year old. I thought he'd learn better in underpants; they insisted he wear pull-ups or diapers because they couldn't be bothered to clean up accidents. My son is now about 99% potty trained in underpants. He has even surmounted his pooping-on-the-potty hurdle. But when he's in pull-ups, he treats them like diapers. Well, this little philosophical difference over potty-training caused my husband and I to rethink our day care arrangements. We always knew we'd send my son to preschool, and we started to think maybe it was time for something different. So we made the decision to put him in a preschool.

We gave our day care providers the two weeks' notice required my their contract. I wrote them a really lovely note thanking them for all the love and care they showed to my son and the wonderful time he had with them. I told Joe, the husband in this h-w team, that we had some bittersweet news, we decided Willie was ready for preschool. I handed him the note. He said, and I quote, "Oh." Then he folded the note without reading it and walked away.

I thought, well, that just about killed all the warm and fuzzies I had about their place and my son's time there. Nonetheless, we only had two weeks left, so I decided to smile  and just play along-- and vowed to find other arrangements for any future progeny.

Per the terms of their contract, our two-week deposit we gave them three years ago was to be applied to our last two weeks in day care, so it was worth this slight discomfort for two "free" (actually pre-paid) weeks.

This Sunday, the Sunday before what was to be my son's last week at their day care, we received a voice mail from Joe saying they had not taken any of their "personal days" for Willie, and they certainly wanted to make sure they got their full paid vacation, so Willie's last day was actually the previous Friday. They'd drop off his extra clothes and leave them on the porch.

Translation: We are leaving you with no day care for an entire week with no notice for a completely bullshit reason. We do not need to see or say goodbye to your son; he does not get to say goodbye to his friends he's had for years; they do not get to say goodbye to him, he simply disappears; he's out on his ass, tough luck.

I had been prepping my son for this big transition in his life. I promised him we'd make cupcakes to bring in on his last day. And he doesn't even get to say goodbye to his friends. He did nothing wrong and yet he is being punished.

After seeing my son five days a week for three years, they drove by the house and threw a bag full of his clothes on the front porch. Finito.

Well, Joe probably hoped it was finito. In my mind, it was far from finished. I called and left a voice mail expressing my anger and sadness that they would not allow my son to say goodbye and force him to start a new day care with no notice. As it turned out, my husband, who is self-employed and usually crazy busy, has a bit of a break this week so he is staying home with our son.

I then wrote them a very well-worded angry letter. On my way home from work, I dropped it off at their house while other parnts were picking up. I made sure the other mom heard me say this to Joe:

"I know you think you are so clever, leaving us with no day care for an entire week with no notice, but I think you're just pathetic, because the only person you're potentially hurting is my son, and I will never forgive you for abandoning my child."

I also ran into another mom on the way out and gave her may card, explaining Willie was kicked out of day care with no notice and if she wants to know more about the people watching her kid, call me or e-mail me.

So at the very least, Joe had some 'splaining to do to two moms.

After that, Danielle, the wife in the team, called me and left a voice mail asking me to call has but I won't. There's nothing I need to hear from them.

Then, as icing on the cake, I called their county licensor and explained what happened and that Joe seemed off the past few months and things seemed odd to me, in addition to them completely abandoning Willie with no warning or cause.

Now I can decide whether to take them to small claims for the last week's tuition. Per their contract, they do not get five personal days per child. They get five personal days, total (in addition to 21 other named days of vacation, they give themselves 5 extra days to close daycare). They make no contractual provision for the presonal days when a child leaves day care-- the only mention of what happens when a child leaves is the clause that specifies that our two-week deposit is applied to the last two weeks. Further, employment common law dictates that when you leave a job in January, you do not get your full two-weeks' vacation. Your days are prorated based on the number of days you worked that year. So they have contractual right to do what they did and I have to say I am mightily tempted, for the $60 filing fee, to bring them to court and say that.

Anyway, that is why I am so mad at my day care I could spit. Or sue.