Two months ago, we shared a story from Gigi about the quiet, steady magic of childcare. She talked about something you cannot really plan for. Over time, the children you help care for grow up, build lives of their own, and sometimes return years later as parents, walking back through the same doors with children of their own.
That kind of full-circle moment does not happen everywhere. It only happens in places where people stay.
Jack is one of those parents.
Today, his twin children attend St. Paul Childcare Center, where started last year. The center is close to home, right in the neighborhood where his family already lives. On paper, it makes total sense. But when Jack talks about it, you can tell that was not really the deciding factor.
It was about people.
Long before he was walking through those doors as a parent, he was a child in that same community. He was shaped by the adults who showed up for him day after day. And many of those same people are still there. That kind of continuity is rare. And for Jack, it means something.
One of those people is Stacy.
Stacy has spent more than four decades working in HCM’s childcare program. She studied Early Childhood Education and Child Development and comes from a family with deep roots in the center. Her mother, Tina, worked in childcare for more than 40 years, and Stacy often credits both her mother and an early mentor named Joyce with helping shape the teacher she became. Joyce taught her the importance of patience and understanding when working with children, as well as the art of curriculum building and lesson planning. Today, Stacy is one of the familiar faces who has helped generations of children prepare for kindergarten and discover a love of learning.
For Jack, she was much more than a familiar face. She was someone who knew him well, spent time with him, and became a steady presence as he grew up.
That connection stuck.
Jack is still in touch with Stacy and her family, including her son Dominic, who is just a couple of years younger than him. Their relationship was never one-directional or limited to a role. It grew into something that looks more like community, where families know each other and stay connected over time.
So when it came time to decide where his own children would go, the answer felt pretty clear.
“She was there for me,” Jack said. “And I knew that wherever she was, that’s where I wanted my kids to be.”
That kind of trust does not happen all at once. It builds slowly. Over years. Over ordinary days that add up to something meaningful. His parents trusted Stacy with him and his two sisters. Today, his sisters trust her with their children. Now, Jack does too.
It is not just familiarity. It is something that has been built and carried forward.
When Jack’s twins started at St. Paul, Stacy made a point to check in on them each day. They were not in her classroom. She did not have to go out of her way. She just did.
“She’s always been present,” Jack said. “And she still is.” When he talks about her now, it is clear her impact goes well beyond those early years. “I wouldn’t be the person I am without her,” he said.
She introduced him to new perspectives and experiences, and helped shape how he sees the world. Some of that shows up in small, personal ways. She introduced him to rap music when he was younger, and he still loves it. These days, if you ask, he will tell you his favorite artist is Kendrick Lamar. Other parts of her influence run deeper, shaping how he relates to people and how he understands the importance of showing up for others.
And she has continued to do exactly that.
When Jack’s grandfather passed away two years ago, Stacy came to the visitation with members of her own family. In the middle of a hard moment, seeing them there meant a lot. She was there for his sister’s wedding, too. She has been part of the moments that matter, not because she had to be, but because the relationship between their families has lasted.
That kind of presence tells a different story about what childcare can be. It is not just a service. It is not just a phase families move through. It is built on relationships. And those relationships depend on something that is easy to overlook, but hard to replace. Stability.
In childcare, relationships are not a bonus. They are the foundation. When staff stay for years, sometimes decades, children experience consistency in the people who care for them. Families build trust with real people, not just a place. Knowledge gets passed down. The culture of a center holds together.
Stacy is quick to push back on one common misconception about childcare. People sometimes assume her work is little more than babysitting. She strongly disagrees. The children in HCM’s childcare centers are learning every day through carefully planned lessons, curriculum, and activities designed to prepare them for kindergarten. In her view, childcare professionals are educators first. She invites anyone who is skeptical to spend a day in the classroom and see the work for themselves.
When staff turnover is high, all of that resets. Trust has to be rebuilt. Again and again.
But when people stay, something different becomes possible. Children are known over time. Families stay connected. And every once in a while, those relationships stretch across generations.
For Stacy, one of the greatest rewards of the work is hearing from parents whose children come home excited to share what they learned that day.
“He’s always talking about you and what you learned this week!” Parents often tell her. After 41 years in childcare, those moments still matter to her.
So does seeing former students return as parents. When asked what it feels like to teach the children of children she once taught, Stacy laughed. “My goodness, I am OLD.” The joke gets a laugh, but beneath it is something deeper: the privilege of seeing relationships endure.
Now, when Jack walks through the doors at St. Paul, he is not just dropping off his children. He is coming back to a place that helped shape him, trusting that same community to help shape them.
At St. Paul Childcare Center, and across HCM’s childcare programs, that is what endures. Not just the routines. Not just the structure. The relationships. The trust that builds over time. The people who stay.
