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Daycare, Preschool & Child Care Centers in Melrose, MA

KinderCare has partnered with Melrose families for more than 50 years to provide award-winning early education programs and high-quality childcare in Melrose, MA.

Whether you are looking for a preschool in Melrose, a trusted part-time or full-time daycare provider, or educational before- or after-school programs, KinderCare offers fun and learning at an affordable price.

1. Melrose KinderCare

   Phone:
   (781) 665-5818

   832 Lynn Fells Pkwy
   Melrose
   MA
   02176

   Distance from address: 1.20 miles

   Ages: 6 weeks to 5 years
   Open: 6:30 AM to 6:00 PM, M-F

   Tuition & Openings

2. Stoneham KinderCare

   Phone:
   (781) 279-3223

   136 Franklin St
   Stoneham
   MA
   02180

   Distance from address: 1. 76 miles

   Ages: 6 weeks to 8 years
   Open: 6:30 AM to 6:30 PM, M-F

   Tuition & Openings

3. Woburn KinderCare

   Phone:
   (781) 935-7040

   225 Washington St
   Woburn
   MA
   01801

   Distance from address: 3.47 miles

   Ages: 6 weeks to 8 years
   Open: 6:30 AM to 6:00 PM, M-F

   Tuition & Openings

4. Wakefield KinderCare

   Phone:
   (781) 246-4055

   607 North Ave
   Wakefield
   MA
   01880

   Distance from address: 4. 18 miles

   Ages: 6 weeks to 7 years
   Open: 7:00 AM to 6:00 PM, M-F

   Tuition & Openings

5. Davis Square KinderCare

   Phone:
   (617) 666-9007

   18 Holland St # 48
   Somerville
   MA
   02144

   Distance from address: 5.13 miles

   Ages: 6 weeks to 6 years
   Open: 7:00 AM to 6:00 PM, M-F

   Tuition & Openings

6. Cambridge KinderCare

   Phone:
   (617) 876-0102

   100 Cambridgepark Dr
   Cambridge
   MA
   02140

   Distance from address: 5. 97 miles

   Ages: 6 weeks to 6 years
   Open: 6:30 AM to 6:00 PM, M-F

   Tuition & Openings

7. Ray Avenue KinderCare

   Phone:
   (781) 273-4727

   18 Ray Ave
   Burlington
   MA
   01803

   Distance from address: 6.27 miles

   Ages: 6 weeks to 7 years
   Open: 7:00 AM to 6:30 PM, M-F

   Tuition & Openings

8. Mercantile KinderCare

   Phone:
   (617) 248-9775

   117 Atlantic Ave
   Boston
   MA
   02110

   Distance from address: 6. 76 miles

   Ages: 6 weeks to 5 years
   Open: 7:30 AM to 6:00 PM, M-F

   Tuition & Openings

9. School Street KinderCare

   Phone:
   (617) 227-0554

   44 School St
   Boston
   MA
   02108

   Distance from address: 6.97 miles

   Ages: 6 weeks to 5 years
   Open: 6:30 AM to 6:00 PM, M-F

   Tuition & Openings

10. Mall Rd Knowledge Beginnings

    Phone:
    (781) 270-6888

    30 Burlington Mall Rd.
    Burlington
    MA
    01803

    Distance from address: 7.25 miles

    Ages: 6 weeks to 7 years
    Open: 6:30 AM to 6:30 PM, M-F

    Tuition & Openings

11. Cambridge St. KinderCare

    Phone:
    (781) 272-6266

    133 Cambridge St
    Burlington
    MA
    01803

    Distance from address: 7.31 miles

    Ages: 6 weeks to 5 years
    Open: 6:30 AM to 6:30 PM, M-F

    Tuition & Openings

12. Peabody KinderCare

    Phone:
    (978) 535-0019

    520 Lowell St
    Peabody
    MA
    01960

    Distance from address: 7. 37 miles

    Ages: 6 weeks to 8 years
    Open: 6:30 AM to 6:00 PM, M-F

    Tuition & Openings

13. Seaport KinderCare

    Phone:
    (617) 345-5453

    130 Autumn Lane
    Boston
    MA
    02210

    Distance from address: 7.54 miles

    Ages: 6 weeks to 5 years
    Open: 7:00 AM to 6:30 PM, M-F

    Tuition & Openings

14. N Reading Knowledge Beginnings

    Phone:
    (978) 664-0403

    48 Main St
    North Reading
    MA
    01864

    Distance from address: 7. 98 miles

    Ages: 6 weeks to 7 years
    Open: 6:30 AM to 6:00 PM, M-F

    Tuition & Openings

15. Opening Soon

    Arsenal Yard KinderCare

    Phone:
    (833) 905-3276

    25 Bond Street
    Watertown
    MA
    02472

    Distance from address: 8.17 miles

    Ages: 6 weeks to 5 years
    Open: 6:30 AM to 6:30 PM, M-F

    Tuition & Openings

16. Lexington Knowledge Beginnings

    Phone:
    (781) 860-0776

    429 Marrett Rd
    Lexington
    MA
    02421

    Distance from address: 9. 12 miles

    Ages: 6 weeks to 7 years
    Open: 6:30 AM to 6:00 PM, M-F

    Tuition & Openings

17. South Main KinderCare

    Phone:
    (978) 470-3122

    511 S Main St
    Andover
    MA
    01810

    Distance from address: 10.76 miles

    Ages: 6 weeks to 7 years
    Open: 7:00 AM to 6:00 PM, M-F

    Tuition & Openings

18. Billerica Knowledge Beginnings

    Phone:
    (978) 670-7707

    262 Concord Rd
    Billerica
    MA
    01821

    Distance from address: 12. 42 miles

    Ages: 6 weeks to 12 years
    Open: 6:30 AM to 6:30 PM, M-F

    Tuition & Openings

19. Needham Knowledge Beginnings

    Phone:
    (781) 455-8723

    206 A St
    Needham
    MA
    02494

    Distance from address: 13.22 miles

    Ages: 6 weeks to 6 years
    Open: 7:00 AM to 6:00 PM, M-F

    Tuition & Openings

20. Wellesley Knowledge Beginnings

    Phone:
    (781) 235-2224

    204 Worcester St
    Wellesley
    MA
    02481

    Distance from address: 13. 54 miles

    Ages: 6 weeks to 5 years
    Open: 7:00 AM to 6:00 PM, M-F

    Tuition & Openings

21. Meritor Academy North Andover

    Phone:
    (978) 794-0616

    860 Turnpike St
    North Andover
    MA
    01845

    Distance from address: 13.99 miles

    Ages: 6 weeks to 5 years
    Open: 7:00 AM to 6:00 PM, M-F

    Tuition & Openings

22. North Billerica KinderCare

    Phone:
    (978) 670-9070

    179 Boston Rd
    North Billerica
    MA
    01862

    Distance from address: 14. 27 miles

    Ages: 6 weeks to 9 years
    Open: 6:30 AM to 6:00 PM, M-F

    Tuition & Openings

23. Needham Heights KinderCare

    Phone:
    (781) 449-0774

    1000 Highland Ave
    Needham
    MA
    02494

    Distance from address: 14.40 miles

    Ages: 6 weeks to 8 years
    Open: 6:30 AM to 6:30 PM, M-F

    Tuition & Openings

Melrose KinderCare – Melrose, MA 02176

Places Near Melrose with Day Care Centers & Nurseries

• Malden (5 miles)
• Medford (7 miles)
• Lynn (8 miles)
• Woburn (9 miles)
• Somerville (10 miles)
• Cambridge (11 miles)
• Peabody (12 miles)
• Boston (12 miles)
• Burlington (13 miles)
• Danvers (14 miles)
• Salem (14 miles)

More Types of Child Care Services in Melrose

Child Support CollectionsFoster Care Agencies

More Info

Schedule a tour of your local KinderCare today!

General Info

Melrose KinderCare located at 832 Lynn Fells Pkwy in Melrose, MA is designed with your child’s fun, health, safety, and childhood education in mind.

Services/Products

Discovery Pre-School
Infant Programs
Participating Child Care Aware Center
Pre-Kindergarten
Pre-School
Summer Programs
Toddler Programs

Brands

Champions, KinderCare® Learning Centers

Payment method

discover, check

Location

at Lynn Fells Pkwy & Main St

Neighborhood

Horace Mann

Other Link

https://www.kindercare.com/our-centers/melrose/ma/300665

Categories

Day Care Centers & Nurseries, Child Care, Educational Services, Nursery Schools, Preschools & Kindergarten, Schools

Other Information

Specialties: Enrichment Programs: Cooking, Enrichment Programs: Music, Enrichment Programs: Phonics

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Details

Phone: (781) 665-5818

Address: 832 Lynn Fells Pkwy, Melrose, MA 02176

Website: https://www.kindercare.com/our-centers/melrose/ma/300665

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Church Daycares in Melrose Park, IL | Affordable Prices

Description:

State licensed home, child daycare
Currently enrolling ages 6wks to 12yrs
Flexible scheduling 6am to 12 midnight Monday- Friday (Saturday 8-6pm)
Curriculum based program/ Early Childhood Development
Ageappropriate indoor / outdoor activities. .
Servicing the areas of: Forest Park, Berwyn, North Riverside, Maywood ,Bellwood, Broad view, and West Chester, IL. Brook field, Melrose Park. Schiller park, Oak Park, Chicago Hill Side Lombard, and Addison…

Description:

Hi, my name is Doreen. I have been running a DCFS Licensed Home Daycare for the past 20 years. I have been married for over 25 years, I have a 18 year-old son and a 8-year-old daughter! Having my daycare inRiver Grove is very convenient for the children’s families as I am close to major highways and also the train station. I offer a fun-loving family environment for all the children and an open door to their families. We enjoy doing arts & crafts, daily walks to the park, playing in my fenced yard (weather permitting), circle learning time (books, flash cards, songs), dress-up / free play, a scheduled day full of fun. My house is pet-free and smoke-free. I strive to make the children feel as comfortable in my home as they would be in their own. As a DCFS licensed provider I am CPR & First Aid certified, also certified in other various topics such as proper food handling & SIDS, & I take early childhood classes on-line. My house is up to code with the fire dept as well with the police dept, all furniture & TV’s are anchored to the wall. MY house and all the toys are cleaned and disinfected daily. A separate entrance & exit are provided for the day children and their family. Breakfast, lunch & snacks are provided. I am open year round, my hours are 7:00am-5:00pm Monday-Friday.
$200 per child weekly.
My family and I are very transparent about Covid, everyone in my household has been fully vaccinated except my 8 yr old daughter.
Extra options available for parents who are teachers.
If you have any questions what so ever please, give me a call or text or an email….

Description:

*I have 30+ yrs experience as a licensed daycare provider, with fantastic references from long-term families.
*We are conveniently located near North Ave and Oak Park Ave, as well as only 5 blocks away from 2Metro stations which provide parking.
*I provide all organic meals made with fresh ingredients and produce.
*I maintain a very clean home, which is also pet and smoke free.
*We have a fenced yard which is great for outdoor play.
*Specializing in infant/toddler care.
*We do not watch television, focusing on learning and play.
*Offer a preschool curriculum with important unstructured play which feeds the imagination and creativity, as well as working on early reading and writing skills and preschool concepts.
*Individualized attention is prevalent.
*First level of the home is used, which includes a playroom, as well as the basement which also includes a play area.
*Overall, I provide a very loving and unique environment that will nurture your child socially and developmentally.
*College Educated
**ECE Accredited
My philosophy:
I believe that children learn through exploration and play. Through play based activities, your child will grow socially, emotionally and mentally. I model and practice important skills such as how to handle conflict, how to be a good friend, how to be respectful and how to be social and open to new experiences. I believe in nurturing children through a caring and loving environment that supports the whole child….

Description:

Growing & Learning is a home day care since 2009. We are licensed by DCFS, have CPR and fist aid certification with great work references.
We have a fun, warm and loving environment four our children in acreative program fill with opportunities for learning and exploration.
Also we provide natural, balanced and nutritional meals and snacks that meet and succeed DCFS guidelines.
We offer a loving, caring and clean environment for kids ages six weeks to eight years.
I am located in Portage Park.
Business hours:
Monday to Friday from 7:00 Am to 5:00 Pm.
For more information about our openings and weekly fees
please call at 773-317-1773 or email [email protected]
https://www.facebook.com/GrowingandLearningchildcare…

Sunny Daycare

10125 Ivanhoe Ave, Schiller Park, IL 60176

Starting at $50/day

Description:

I have been a daycare provider for 24 years, caring for infants through school age children. Before I began my home business, I was special education teacher for 8 years. I decided to stay home when I had myfirst child. As my own family grew, I knew then I wanted start my own home daycare and still be available for my own children.
My goal is for parents to have peace of mind that, when they are at work, their child is being cared for in a safe and caring environment.
Our days are scheduled to include time for small and large motor activities, music, reading books, outdoor time, arts/crafts, and much more. I also provide breakfast, lunch, and 2 snacks. I participate in a family childcare provider association to further my knowledge in early childhood….

Recent Review:

We found Melba after we had a bad experience at another daycare and I thank God that we did. She’s been amazing and has watched my son since he was 9 months old. She has loved him like he was her own. He haslearned so much at her home and he is ready to start kindergarten thanks to her. She has the patience of a saint and does so many fun activities with the kids. My little guy loves coming home telling me everything they did that day, showing me his artwork and letting me know what he ate (he even tells me what she makes better than I do). The communication is open on both ends and I have never felt safer leaving him with anyone else. She has become a member of our family and we will miss seeing her everyday. If you’re looking for a nurturing place that is like a second home to your little one, run, don’t walk to Sunny Daycare!…

Reviewed by Stephanie S

Early Milestones

6125 W. Waveland Ave., Chicago, IL 60634

Costimate: $224/wk

Description:

My name is Eva M and I am the owner and program director of Early Milestones Home Daycare. I have a Masters Degree in Early Childhood Education from the University of Illinois in Chicago and I am a mother ofthree wonderful children. My goal as a child-care provider is to provide children with a comfortable and nurturing learning environment that feels just like home while their parents work and/or attend school. I believe that children learn best through play and I understand that a child s play time is essential to his cognitive, physical, social, and emotional development. Early Milestones Home Daycare opened its doors in April of 2016. Our child care provides high quality, personalized, and reliable child care services for the professional working families of the northwest side of Chicago. We are a licensed day care home that operates under a small license capacity, in order to give more one-on-one attention to the children in our care. Our child care meets all the requirements established by the State of Illinois. We are First-Aid and CPR Certified. We provide two healthy meals and snacks per day. Our meals include a variety of fresh fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. Early Milestones Home Daycare is designed to provide both a nurturing home atmosphere along with dedicated areas for the children to actively learn and play in. Furthermore, we maintain a low teacher to child ratio. Therefore, your child will receive the kind of close attention he or she deserves, nurturing a foundation for development and helping to enable your child to reach his/her full potential. …

Recent Review:

We had a great experience bringing our 11 week old here for her first time at daycare. If we lived closer, she’d be there still. Eva is not only extremely professional and credentialed, she is also kind,welcoming, and wonderful with the kids….

Reviewed by Alexandra H

Description:

We serve children from birth to age twelve. Our philosophy is to create a home atmosphere along with a rich learning environment. We engage children through one-on-one time as we’ll as through larger groupactivities. In order to enrich our daily activities we invite a storyteller on a monthly basis and a Spanish teacher once a week. As a home run business we want all of our families to feel like one big family. Through our daily activities, nutritious meals, and time spent together, we want children to feel like this is their home away from home. We also offer music class….

Description:

We are an Illinois state licensed, DCFS approved, full time, in home child daycare center for children and infants in the ages of 6 weeks to 12 years old. We are located in a friendly neighborhood on theNorthwest side in the city of Chicago near Belmont and Narragansett. With over 5 years of experience in Child Care Services and Early Childhood Education, our activities and curriculum will provide a nurturing, fun and safe environment for children to socialize, learn and grow. We accept child care initiative, we are enrolled in the Illinois Action For Children program and we have reasonable and affordable rates. Please call us or come visit us for more information. Se Habla Español.
We’re open Monday thru Friday from 6am-5pm
Ask for Ms. Maria…

Description:

Daycare Monday-Friday 6am to 5:30pm
Licensed, CDC guidelines, CPR
Drop off, Affordable rates (will work with you)
ABEKA PHONIC and SAXON Math curricula are utilized to enhance verbal skill. Computer Room, artsand crafts.
Meals and Snacks
Designed environment for infants and toddlers (safety, space and material)…

Abby’s House

3N425 N Howard Ave, Elmhurst, IL 60126

Starting at $50/day

Description:

If there is anything 2020 taught us, it’s how important it is to focus on family. I’ve wanted to work from home for a while. Opening a home daycare and caring for a family or two alongside my children seemslike a no-brainer. My home is in a quiet neighborhood. We are walking distance to a park and I am capable of helping with online learning if need be. I am fun and energetic. I also encourage learning through play. I am completely open to answering any and all questions you may have….

Description:

Early Childhood Education Travel Childcare and Nanny Referral Agency. Our Nannies are Early Childhood Professionals who specialize in providing quality childcare in the home of the family.

Little Sharks

7234 W North Ave, Elmwood Park, IL 60707

Berry’s Patch

1750 N. Natoma, Elmwood Park, IL 60707

Starting at $285/wk

Description:

I have a home based daycare. We provided diapers, baby wipes, and food. We have a great curriculum, you will get a weekly menu, a weekly newsletter. Feel Free to visit our website Www.berryspatch.net or contactme anytime for my information…

Description:

We are a mother and daughter home daycare in Westchester, IL. We provide child care services in a loving home atmosphere with affordable rates. We are open Monday-Friday 7:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. We offer lowrates. We play, learn and grow together!…

Description:

Get set for a thrill-filled summer! Our age-specific, kid-approved camps add up to a season of discovery and fun for preschool to school-age children. This year, our 12 weeks of camps fall into six greatthemes: Mighty Bodies, Bendy Brains; Awesome Art; Gravity Galore and More; The Wondrous World of Food; Wild about Water; and Featured Creatures.
We’re in session when your local public schools are on break and you’ll find our flexible scheduling works for your busy family. See why our summer (and winter and spring) break camps are the place to be when school’s out….

Description:

Get set for a thrill-filled summer! Our age-specific, kid-approved camps add up to a season of discovery and fun for preschool to school-age children. This year, our 12 weeks of camps fall into six greatthemes: Mighty Bodies, Bendy Brains; Awesome Art; Gravity Galore and More; The Wondrous World of Food; Wild about Water; and Featured Creatures.
We’re in session when your local public schools are on break and you’ll find our flexible scheduling works for your busy family. See why our summer (and winter and spring) break camps are the place to be when school’s out….

Description:

The West Cook YMCA Summer Camp in Oak Park, Illinois encourages healthy and active lifestyles in a fun and safe environment among the children. They offer swimming, sports, arts and crafts, and othertraditional, yet fun-filled day camp activities. Each week has a field trip to a nearby attraction or a special activity that serves as the highlight of the week. They are accredited by the American Camp Association….

Description:

Pilgrim Park Camp Conference Center in Westchester, IL is nestled in the woods of central Illinois displaying many features of recreation areas including plenty of woodland trails along rolling hills, prairie,and a babbling creek. The dining hall at Pilgrim Park is staffed and available for all meals and snacks every group would need. Most buildings are wheelchair accessible….

Showing 1 – 18 of 18

Read online Patrick Melrose. Book 2 (compilation)”, Edward St. Aubin – LitRes, page 2

– Is he whole? Robert asked.

– Yes, I think so, – answered my mother.

“I hope he’s all right,” said Robert, and they went into the house together, leaving Margaret lying on the ground and resenting alone.

The next morning they hid from Margaret in their parents’ bedroom. In the afternoon, her father had to take her to the airport.

“Well, it’s time to go downstairs,” Mom said, buttoning up Thomas’ overalls and scooping him up in her arms.

– Nope! Dad howled and plopped down on the bed.

– What kind of kindergarten?

– When you have a baby, you start being childish yourself, notice?

– I have no time for childishness, this is the privilege of fathers.

– If you could find a normal assistant, you would find time.

– Let’s go! Mom held out her free hand to Dad.

He squeezed her lightly, but didn’t budge.

“I can’t decide which is worse,” he said, “talking to Margaret or listening to her.”

“Listen,” Robert voted. “That is why, after Margaret’s departure, I will constantly portray her.

“Thank you,” Mom said. “Look, your crazy idea even made Thomas laugh. He smiles!

“Oh no, my dear, that’s not a smile,” grumbled Robert, “it’s the gases tormenting his tiny insides.”

Everyone laughed, and my mother immediately whispered:

– Shh, she will hear us!

In vain – Robert was determined to amuse everyone. Rocking his hips from side to side to soften his forward movement, he swam up to his mother.

“Your science is no argument for me, my dear,” he said. “I can see he doesn’t like this concoction even though it’s made from organic goat milk.” I remember once I worked in Saudi Arabia – my client was a princess, by the way . .. So, I tell them: “Sorry, but I can’t work with this mixture, I need the Gold Standard from Cow and Gate “. And they: “Of course, Margaret, you have such a great experience, we completely trust you.” And imagine, they brought me the right mixture on their private jet.

– How do you remember all this? his mother asked. – What a horror! I then answered Margaret that, alas, we do not have a private jet.

“Well, yes, they had money,” Robert continued, shaking his head proudly. – Once I casually noticed that the princess had very beautiful slippers. Before I could blink my eyes, the exact same ones were already waiting for me in the bedroom! A similar story happened to the prince’s camera. I admit, I was very embarrassed. Then every time I said to myself: “Margaret, you need to learn to be silent!” – Robert shook his finger at himself, sat down next to dad on the bed and, sighing bitterly, continued: – But the words themselves escaped from his lips. You know how it happens – you accidentally drop something like: “Oh, what a beautiful shawl, my dear, what a soft fabric!”, And in the evening exactly the same scarf lies on your bed. At the end, I even had to buy a new suitcase for their gifts.

Parents tried their best not to make noise, but could not help laughing. When Robert spoke, they didn’t pay any attention to Thomas at all.

– Well, how are we going down to the dining room now? Mom sat on the bed next to them.

“That’s impossible,” said dad. – The exit is blocked by a force field.

Robert ran to the door and pretended to be thrown back.

– Ah! he shouted. “This is Margaret’s field!” We can’t get through, Captain!

He rolled on the floor for a bit and then crawled back into bed with his parents.

“We are like guests from the Exterminator Angel, gathered for a dinner party,” dad said. “We’ll stay here for a few days, and then the police and soldiers will rescue us…

“We need to pull ourselves together,” Mom said. “Let’s part ways with her.”

Nobody moved.

– Why do you think it’s so hard for us to leave the room? Dad began to guess. “Could we have made a scapegoat out of Margaret?” We feel guilty towards Thomas for not being able to save him from the suffering that falls to the lot of any person, and subconsciously we try to put the blame on Margaret – something like that.

“Let’s not complicate things, honey…” Mom said. “She’s just a terrible bore and incapable of caring for Thomas. That’s why we don’t want to see her anymore.

Silence. Thomas fell asleep, and everyone made an unspoken decision to be silent. Robert stretched, threw his arms behind his head, and stared at the ceiling beams. A familiar picture of stains and knots appeared on the tree: the profile of a big-nosed man in a helmet. At first, Robert could see him or not see him at will, but after a minute or two the face refused to disappear, acquired wild eyes and sunken cheeks. The boy knew this ceiling well: earlier, his grandmother slept in the room and he often came here. Grandmother herself now lived in a nursing home. Robert still remembered the ancient silver-framed photograph on her desk; the picture stirred his imagination because his grandmother was only a few days old. The baby was lying on a pile of furs, silks and lace, and on her head was a beaded turban. Grandmother’s gaze was surprisingly piercing – it seemed to Robert that she was horrified by this pile of junk, bought by an indefatigable mother.

“I love this photo,” my grandmother said. – It reminds me of the time when I was just born and was closer to the source.

– Which source? Robert didn’t understand.

“Closer to God,” she explained shyly.

“Your face is not very pleased,” he remarked.

– It seems to me that this is how a person who has not forgotten everything looks like … However, you are right. I never got along with the material world.

– What is the material world?

– The globe, – answered the grandmother.

– Would you rather live on the moon?

She stroked his cheek with a smile and replied:

– One day you will understand everything.

Now instead of a photograph, a changing mat, a basin of water and a stack of diapers are placed on the table.

He loved his grandmother, although she changed her mind about leaving her house to them. Her face was covered with a web of wrinkles that arose from constant attempts to be good, from endless worries about the fate of the world and the Universe, from worries about all the unfortunate and destitute with whom she was not even familiar, from thoughts about the Lord’s plans for her future life. Dad did not consider her good – one desire for this is not enough, he believed. And he often repeated to Robert that one must love his grandmother, “despite everything.” So Robert realized that her father did not love her anymore.

– Will Thomas remember this fall for the rest of his life? he asked his dad without taking his eyes off the ceiling.

“What are you doing,” he answered. No one remembers what happened to him immediately after birth.

“I remember,” said Robert.

“We need to cheer him up somehow,” my mother changed the subject, obviously not wanting to draw the attention of her family to Robert’s lies. But he didn’t lie. Not a drop.

– Why amuse him, he didn’t even hurt himself. And he probably thought that wallowing on the stomach of a floundering Margaret was a common thing in this world. Yes, we ourselves were more frightened than he!

– That’s why you need to cheer him up. He senses our concern.

“You’re right in a way,” Dad admitted. “But in the world of babies, there is a democracy of strangeness. Everything happens to them for the first time – and rather, the repetition of certain events and phenomena is surprising.

Still, kids are cool, Robert reasoned. You can invent and say whatever comes into your head about them, but they cannot object.

“It’s already twelve,” father sighed.

They all tried to overcome laziness, but the desire to escape from unpleasant duties drove them deeper and deeper into the unsteady pulp of the mattress. Robert wanted to keep his parents a little longer.

“Sometimes,” he said dreamily in Margaret’s voice, “when I live at home between families, my hands start to itch. So I want to touch the baby! He grabbed Thomas by the leg and pretended to want to devour him.

“Careful,” my mother said.

“He’s right, by the way,” said Dad. Children are her drug. She needs them more than they need her. Babies are allowed to be greedy and think only of themselves, so she uses them as a disguise.

After the moral effort to get out of the room and finally devote another hour of his life to communicating with Margaret, everyone even felt somehow offended when she was not in the living room. Mom went to the kitchen, and dad and Robert sat on the sofa, putting Thomas in the middle. He was carried away by looking at the picture that hung on the wall directly above the sofa, and fell silent. Robert lowered his head to the same level as his head and realized that Thomas did not see the picture itself: the glare on the glass interfered. I immediately remembered that he was also fascinated by glass in early childhood. The image reflected off the surface seemed to pull him deeper into the space behind him. The glass reflected the door, and behind the door, an oleander, its flowers twinkling like tiny pink lights on the glossy surface. Robert focused his attention on the disappearing spots of the sky between the branches of the oleander, and immediately in his imagination he was transferred to the real sky: his mind became like two cones touching the tops. He was there with Thomas, or rather, Thomas was with him: together they raced into infinity on a patch of light. Suddenly Robert noticed that the flowers had disappeared: a large silhouette blocked the doorway.

“Margaret is here,” he said.

Dad turned around, and Robert continued to watch the reflection: Margaret mournfully carried her carcass in their direction. She stopped a few feet from the sofa.

“Everyone is alive and well,” she said half inquiringly, half affirmatively.

“The child seems to be intact,” dad replied.

– I hope this doesn’t affect your review?

– What feedback? Dad asked.

– Oh, yes! said Margaret indignantly, half offended, half angry, but very proud.

“Let’s go to dinner,” dad suggested.

“Thank you, I think I can do without lunch,” Margaret replied.

She turned to the stairs and began her tedious climb.

Robert suddenly couldn’t take it anymore.

“Poor Margaret,” he said.

“Poor Margaret,” the father nodded. What are we going to do without her?

3

Robert watched the ant hide behind a misted bottle of white wine on the table. Suddenly, a drop of moisture rolled down the light green glass, leaving a perfectly even and smooth trail behind it. The ant reappeared, magnified by the glass, its paws flailing frantically, tasting the shiny crystal of sugar Julia had spilled during her afternoon coffee. Above their heads, the canvas canopy blew lazily in the wind, and almost in time with its slow movements, the chirping of cicadas waxed and waned. Mom was relaxing with Thomas, Lucy was watching a movie, and Robert stayed outside, although Julia practically forced him to join Lucy.

“For the most part, people are waiting for the death of their parents with a feeling of incredible sadness and dreams of a new pool,” dad said, talking to Julia. – Since I don’t have to dream of a pool, I decided at the same time to give up sadness.

– Is it possible to pretend to be a shaman and still get a house as an inheritance? Julia asked.

– Alas, I am a rare individual of the human species, completely devoid of healing abilities. Everyone around has long discovered an inner shaman in themselves, and I still sit in the trap of my own materialistic views on the structure of the Universe.

“Hypocrisy comes to the rescue in such cases,” Julia said. – A Rainbow Way store has opened near my house. If you want, I can buy you a drum and a bunch of feathers.

“From your words, I immediately felt a surge of magical power,” dad said with a yawn. – It turns out that I can be of some use to the glorious local tribe. I had no idea about this until I discovered in myself an amazing gift of clairvoyance.

“Wow,” Julia drawled approvingly. – You can do it. You won’t have time to look back before you become the chief shaman here.

– Well, no, I have enough worries even without saving the world.

“Sometimes, limiting themselves to the mere care of children, people put an end to their own lives,” Julia said with a stern smile. – Over time, children become individuals – whole or flawed – they put off their happiness for later, drink deeply or know when to stop, give up, get divorced or go crazy. That part of you that is responsible for fighting depression and decay is completely switched to protecting children from depression and decay. In the meantime, you sink into depression and decompose yourself.

“I don’t agree,” dad replied. “When you fight only for yourself, you have to be angry and constantly defend yourself…

“Very useful qualities,” Julia interrupted him. “That’s why it’s so important not to treat your children too well, otherwise they won’t compete in the real world. If you want them to become, for example, producers or top managers, it is useless to fill their heads with ideas of kindness, honesty and decency. Otherwise they will grow up to be clerks and secretaries.

Robert decided to ask his mother if it was Julia or… well, just like that. She came to visit them every year with her daughter Lucy, an arrogant girl a year older than him. He knew that his mother was not too fond of Julia, his father’s former girlfriend. In her presence, my mother began not only to be jealous, but also a little bored. It seems that Julia dreamed of one thing – that people considered her smart, and she herself did not know how to stop it.

“Really smart people just think out loud,” Robert’s mother once said, “and Julia thinks about the effect her words make on others.

And Julia was always trying to make Robert and Lucy friends. The day before yesterday, Lucy wanted to kiss him. That’s why he refused to watch movies with her. It is unlikely that his front teeth will withstand another such collision. Still, a strange theory is that it is useful for him to spend time with peers, even if he does not like them. Would a father, for example, invite a woman to tea just because she was forty-two years old?

Julie was fiddling with the sugar again, spinning the spoon in the sugar bowl.

– Since my divorce from Richard, I’ve been getting terrible bouts of dizziness every now and then. It feels like I don’t exist.

– I know this feeling! exclaimed Robert, delighted at the subject at least somewhat intelligible to him.

You are too young to know. You probably just heard adults talking about it.

– No! – he was indignant at such an unfair assessment. “It really happens to me.

“You underestimate him,” Dad said. “Robert is savvy beyond his years in all sorts of horrors. But this does not interfere with his happy childhood.

“Actually, it does,” put in Robert, “when I feel it.

“Oh, when you feel…” dad said with a condescending smile.

“I understand,” Julia said and covered Robert’s hand with hers. “In that case, welcome to my club, honey.”

He didn’t want to be a member of her club in the slightest. He immediately itched all over, because he felt an irresistible desire to withdraw his hand, but was afraid to seem impolite.

– I used to think that children are simpler than adults. Julia removed her hand and placed it on her father’s shoulder. – We are like icebreakers – inexorably paving our way to the next object of desire.

– What could be easier than inexorably paving the way to the next object of desire? Dad asked.

– Do not route .

– Self-denial is not as easy as it seems.

“It is called self-denial only if the person has desires,” said Julia.

“Children are full of desires,” dad remarked. “But you’re right, in essence, they want one thing: to always be near their loved ones.

“Normal people still want to watch Indiana Jones,” Julia put in.

“It’s easier to distract us,” dad said, ignoring her last words, “we are used to the culture of substitutions and it’s easier to forget who we really love.

– Really? Julia smiled. – How nice.

“To a certain extent,” Papa said.

Robert did not understand what they were talking about, but Julia visibly brightened up. Apparently, the substitution is something wonderful. Before he could ask what it was, a voice called out to them – a gentle voice with a strong Irish accent:

– Is there anyone here?

“Damn you…” Dad muttered. The boss has come.

– Patrick! Seamus exclaimed warmly, striding towards them in a bright shirt with palm trees and rainbows. – Robert! He ruffled his hair cheerfully. What a pleasant meeting! he said to Julia, looking at her with honest blue eyes and firmly shaking her hand. Still, he was not lacking in friendliness and courtesy. What a wonderful place you have chosen! We often settle here after the session – people cry, laugh and just get used to themselves. This is a real place of power – a place of release of colossal energy. Yes, yes,” he sighed, as if agreeing with someone’s wise remark. “Before my eyes, people got rid of the burden here more than once …

“Speaking of ‘burden removal’…” Father returned the phrase to Seamus in disgust, as if holding someone’s used handkerchief in his fingertips. “When I opened my bedside table this morning, I found so many Healing Drums brochures inside that I had nowhere to put my passport. And there are a couple of hundred copies of The Way of the Shaman in the closet, which, you know, get in the way of my shoes.

– The way of shoes, haha! Seamus repeated, and burst into a healthy, booming laugh. “Not a bad title for a book on how to keep in touch with reality.

– Don’t you think that these products of corporate life could have been removed from the bedroom by the time we arrived? Patrick said quickly and coldly. – After all, my mother herself said more than once that in August the house returns to its previous incarnation – that is, it becomes a family nest.

“Of course, of course,” Seamus replied. “My apologies, Patrick. This is probably Kevin and Annette forgot. Before returning to Ireland, they went through a process of deep personality restructuring and, apparently, did not pay due attention to preparing the room for your arrival.

– Will you also return to Ireland?

“No, I’ll be here all August,” said Seamus. “The Pegasus Press Publishing House asked me to write a short book for them about the work of a shaman.

– How curious! Julia exclaimed. – Are you a shaman?

– You know, I got acquainted with the scribble that stood in the way of my shoes, – dad remarked, – and I had a few questions. Have you been an assistant to a Siberian witch for twenty years? Gathered medicinal herbs under a full moon in the short northern summer? Was buried alive and reborn? Did your eyes water from the smoke of the fires when you prayed to the spirits and spoke to the dying? You drank the urine of a deer that ate Amanita muscaria ^[1] in order to go to other worlds and unravel the mystery of a complex diagnosis? Or maybe you were treated to ayahuasca by the shamans of the Indian tribes of the Amazon basin?

– No, but I am trained as a health worker in the Irish health system.

“This is undoubtedly an adequate substitute for being buried alive,” said the Pope.

– I worked for many years in a rehabilitation center: I washed bedridden patients from urine and feces, I spoon-fed old people who could not eat on their own.

“Please don’t,” Julia said, “we just had lunch.

“That was my reality in those years,” Seamus said. – Sometimes I asked myself why I didn’t get a full medical education, didn’t graduate from the university? But now I am grateful for the years spent in rehab – they helped me keep in touch with the real world. When I discovered holotropic breathwork and went to California to study with Stan Grof, I met quite a few out-of-this-world people, so to speak. I remember one lady in a sunset-colored dress, who introduced herself to us like this: “I am Tamara from the Vega system, I came to Earth to heal and teach people.” Hearing this, I immediately remembered my glorious old men from Ireland: thanks to them, I stood firmly on the ground.

– Is that cold… what’s his… also a shaman’s thing? Julia asked.

– No, not really. I studied Holotropic Breathwork before I got into shamanism, but it’s all connected, of course. It also helps people to establish contact with the otherworldly, with another dimension. After such contact, radical changes sometimes occur in a person’s life.

– But I don’t understand why you call it charity. People don’t live here for free, do they? Julia asked.

“No, not free,” Seamus replied. “But the proceeds go to scholarships for students like Kevin and Annette who want to learn shamanism. They’ve started bringing in groups of city kids from Dublin that we allow to attend the courses for free. It’s wonderful to see the change in their minds. They are interested in trance music and drums. They come up to me and say: “Sheamus, this is incredible! It’s like a drug-free parish!” And then they pass the message on to their city friends, open their own shamanic groups there.

“Yeah, so your charity helps people experience parishes,” Dad said. – In our world full of adversity and disasters, you find a few unfortunate people who are not able to get high on their own. And then, well, people dream of parishes – so give them a dose of acid. Why all this drumming?

“You can see the lawyer right away,” Seamus remarked benevolently.

“I’m just happy for people who have hobbies,” dad said. – It just seems to me that they need to do it under the cozy roof of their own home.

– Alas, Patrick, not all houses are equally cozy.

– Yes, I know this firsthand. By the way, about comfort; Couldn’t we remove books and other advertising rubbish from our room right now?

“Of course,” Seamus replied. – Of course.

He and dad got up and got ready to leave. It dawned on Robert that he would be left alone with Julia.

– I’ll help you! he shouted and went with them.

Dad led them into the house and stopped almost at the door.

– All those rustling booklets at the entrance – advertisements for other centers, institutes, healing courses, advanced drumming lessons – all this is wasted here. I would even say that we will do without the information board at all,” said dad, removing the said board from the wall, “although I really like its cork coating and multi-colored buttons.

“No problem,” said Seamus, wrapping his arms around the board.

Despite the fact that the Pope behaved very reservedly, it was clear that he was literally besotted with rage and contempt. Robert wanted to feel Seamus’s feelings as well, but he somehow immediately closed down. Gradually, the boy came to a terrible conclusion: Seamus feels sorry for his dad. He knows perfectly well who is in charge here, and therefore easily endures the attacks of an angry child. This vile pity is a kind of shield that allows him not to feel the full force of his father’s anger. Robert found himself between two fires and, feeling fear and his own helplessness, quietly slipped out into the street, and in the meantime, dad led Seamus to the scene of another crime.

Outside, the shadow of the house was already creeping over the flowerbeds that stood on the edge of the terrace: with some passive part of his mind, Robert realized that the middle of the day had come. The cicadas were all chirping. He saw without looking and heard without listening; besides, he was aware that at the moment he was thinking of nothing. His attention, usually jumping from one object or phenomenon to another, was completely calm. He tested that calm a little, but he didn’t push too hard, he didn’t want to turn his mind back into a pinball. Now its surface seemed glassy and absolutely smooth, like water in a pond, sleepily reflecting celestial patterns.

It’s funny: imagining this pond, Robert began to destroy the trance to which he compared it. I wanted to go to a real pond at the top of the stairs, a stone semicircle of water at the very end of the driveway, where goldfish hid under the mirror surface. Yes Yes exactly; there is no need to go after dad and Seamus, it is better to go to the pond and crumble bread into the water. If you’re lucky, a slippery fiery wheel of orange fish will rise from the depths. Robert ran to the kitchen, grabbed a stale edge and rushed up the stone steps to the pond.

Dad told me that in winter the spring breaks out of the chimney and splashes right on the flickering fish. The water overflows, flows into the lower ponds, and eventually enters the river that runs along the bottom of the valley. Would love to see this sometime! By August the pond was shrinking. Water barely oozed from a bearded, overgrown duckweed pipe. Wasps, hornets and dragonflies swooped over the warm, greenish dusty surface of the pond, from time to time landing on the leaves of water lilies to drink. The fish rose from the bottom very rarely, only if they were lured with food. The best way to crumble stale bread is to rub two pieces together so that they crumble into small crumbs. If you throw large pieces, they simply sink, and the crumbs stick to the surface like dust. The most unusual fish – the one for which he came here – had red and white stripes on its sides. The rest were all shades of orange, and Robert had seen a couple of black fry, but in time they would either turn into orange or die out, because he did not notice the large black individuals.

Breaking the piece, he began rubbing the two halves together. A rain of light crumbs fell on the water, they spread in different directions, but nothing happened.

In fact, Robert saw a whirlwind of goldfish only once. Since then, either no one has shown up at all, or a single fish has lazily floated up to meet the sinking bread crumbs.

– Pisces! Fish! Fish! Come on! Fish! Fish! Fish!

– Calling on your spirit animal? a voice asked.

Robert turned abruptly to find Seamus smiling benevolently behind him, wearing a dazzling tropical-patterned shirt.

– Pisces! Fish! Fish! Seamus took up his call.

“No, I just feed them,” Robert muttered.

– Have you ever felt a spiritual connection with fish? Seamus asked, leaning closer. – This is the essence of a totem animal: it helps a person on his life path.

– Yes, I just like them. I don’t expect them to do anything for me.

“For example, a fish brings us messages from the depths of the subconscious,” said Seamus, making undulating movements with his hand. “The place is truly magical. He closed his eyes, stretched and stretched his neck. – My personal place of power is in that forest, near the bird’s drinker. Been there? I was first brought there by your grandmother, for her this place was also special. It is there that I feel the best connection with another reality.

Robert suddenly realized that he hated Seamus – and at the same moment he realized the inevitability of this feeling.

He raised a mouthpiece of folded hands to his mouth and yelled:

– Fish! Fish! Fish!

Robert wanted to nail him. If he had a car, he would run him over. If he had an axe, he would have cut him down.

Just then a door opened upstairs and a mosquito net creaked. Mom came out with Thomas in her arms.

– Oh, it’s you. Hello, Seamus, she said politely. – We were already almost asleep, and I could not figure out how the fishmonger appeared under our windows.

“We called for fish,” Seamus explained.

Robert ran to his mother. She sat down next to him on a low stone fence, away from Seamus, and began to show Thomas the pond. Robert hoped the fish wouldn’t come right now or Seamus would think he had called them. Poor Thomas, he may never see the orange whirlwind. And a fish with red and white stripes, too. Seamus will take away the pond, and the forest, and the bird-drinker, and all that beauty. If you think about it, it turns out that his own grandmother wished little Thomas harm from his very birth. She is not a grandmother at all, but rather, an evil stepmother from a fairy tale. Why was she showing Seamus the forest birdbath? How could she? Robert caressed Thomas on the head. He began to laugh – a surprisingly low, chesty laugh – and it dawned on Robert that the little one did not yet know anything about the troubles that were driving his older brother crazy, and he did not need to know about them at all. for 7 nights, 3 , without power