I didn’t move to Japan thinking I was going to fall in love with childcare.
Actually, I kind of stumbled into it.
Not long after arriving, a woman told me that a higher power had told her I was supposed to be her assistant director at a childcare center she operated off base through her church.
I laughed.
Because… ma’am, I don’t even speak Japanese. 😂
But somehow, I said yes.
And that decision would become one of those moments in my life that made absolutely no sense at the time, but makes perfect sense looking back.
Walking into a childcare center in another country when you don’t speak the language will humble you quickly. I couldn’t rely on my words to build relationships. I couldn’t give a long explanation to a child about what I needed them to do. Even communicating with some of the teachers required patience, observation and a whole lot of figuring it out as we went.
But something really beautiful happened.
The children began to trust me.
And once they trusted me, we figured each other out.
I started realizing that children don’t necessarily need you to speak their language before they can understand your intentions. They know when you are patient with them. They know when you’re safe. They know when you’re genuinely excited to see them. They know when you’re frustrated with them, too.
Love has its own language.
Eventually, that same trust grew between me and the teachers. We learned how to communicate with each other beyond the limitations of language.
Japan also taught me something else about myself:
I absolutely love toddlers.
Give me the toddler room every time.
There is something so special about that stage of development because you’re watching a little human being discover themselves in real time.
They come to you barely able to communicate what they want, and suddenly they’re talking to you.
You’re helping them learn language.
You’re potty training.
You’re teaching independence.
You’re watching personalities explode out of these tiny bodies.
One day it’s “ga ga goo goo,” and before you know it, it’s “Hi, how are you?”
Or, if we’re being completely accurate about toddlers:
“NO!”
😂
And I love every bit of it.
Because when you work with toddlers, you’re not simply taking care of children. You are helping build some of the earliest pieces of the person they are becoming.
Their confidence.
Their independence.
Their ability to communicate.
Their understanding of boundaries.
Their relationships with other people.
That experience changed the way I saw childcare.
Years later, I can look at the schools I’ve built, the educators I’ve worked alongside and the children whose lives I’ve been fortunate enough to be part of, and trace so much of it back to that unexpected opportunity in Japan.
I thought not speaking the language would be my biggest obstacle.
Instead, it taught me one of the most important lessons of my career:
When children know they are safe, respected and loved, connection doesn’t require translation.
And apparently, sometimes your purpose finds you before you even realize you’re looking for it.