The post-holiday hush may be felt more by Margaret Gonnerman than most of us. Friday marks her last day of providing day care - and considering she started 41 1/2 years ago, her home will seem pretty quiet after Christmas.
Gonnerman estimates about 160 children have been in her care since 1959. In 1977 she became licensed, but before that she took in as many as 20.
The decision hasn't been easy for Gonnerman to make, she said with tears in her eyes. "I wonder if it's the right thing to do, but pretty soon your body tells you to give it up."
She stopped accepting infants four years ago and now only takes children after school.
At one time, day care was a new concept in Luverne.
She started the work almost by accident. She worked at the local J.C. Penney store and when her husband, Marv, had to move for the military, she went with him. When they returned to Luverne, a coworker at Penney's asked if she'd be returning to work. Margaret had a daughter by then and wanted to stay home, so the coworker suggested Margaret take her two children as well.
Soon Margaret was known as one of only two women in town who would baby-sit, and her numbers increased.
"I loved it," Margaret said. "I liked being home with my own kids, too. But every child has its own personality, and I like knowing them as individuals."
When her current group of after-school kids found out she was quitting, they were disappointed. "One of the older ones was upset, ... so another one said we'd always be their grandma and grandpa. ... I know I'm going to miss them."
Part of the family
Margaret has been in the day-care business so long in the same town that she's actually changed diapers on two generations of some families.
Erma Hilbrands brought her son and daughter to Margaret and over the years became her friend. "Oh, she's the tops," Hilbrands said. "It was hard to get the kids away from there (at the end of the day)."
Margaret also watched Hilbrands' grandson. "She did crafts with them, and I know it was hard to get kids in there because she was full - because she was the best," Hilbrands said. "She's like a second mom to the kids." And now a second grandma in some cases.
Feeling like part of the family is something Margaret tried to impart to all the children in her home. They read books, got creative with colors and markers, played dress-up and built structures with Legos. The dress-up clothes are pretty tattered now, but Margaret said the years of wear were worth it.
"I always felt satisfied that I was able to help kids and give them something to remember me by," she said. "Some still stop by when they’re home visiting."
Margaret's impression is apparently a lasting one because a couple of young men have brought home college girlfriends for her approval.
"I never felt that one was better than the other. They all need the special love you can give them," she said.
"I hope that as they grow up, they feel like this was home."
Margaret plans to catch up on craft projects during her free time. She enjoys cross-stitching, crocheting, knitting and decorating in general. And now when her friends ask her to join them for an afternoon of shopping, she won’t have to turn them down.