Smiles and tears appeared on many of the faces of parents, grandparents and local babies who became parents throughout this last day at the Saint-Jacques nursery yesterday.
Opened in 1986, generations and generations of kids frequented this structure located on the old Chemin de la Ripelle in Toulon.
Florence Gomez and Annick Vanhoutte, the two managers, had to return the keys to the owner that same Saturday evening. A page that turns: “The owner is getting his premises back. Besides, we were no longer able to cope financially. We are leaving with a lot of regrets. That’s how it is. We carried this project on our hands for years, especially on the financial level “Luckily I get along really well with Annick. She’s my sister.” sighs Florence Gomez. “The nursery opened in 1986 with Annick and Michèle Zarzycki, the owner of the place. She left to live elsewhere to make this nursery. At the time, it was the first parental nursery in the Var. I arrived there on July 1, 1988 and I am leaving it this Saturday, June 29, 2024. We are reaching the end”adds Florence.
A stream of parents and grandparents took turns to send them all their affection.
“We had children’s children“
“When you arrive here, you arrive in the countryside. It’s an exceptional setting,” testifies a parent.
“One day, a lady drove through the fence further up the road. She was pregnant. That’s how she found out there was a nursery here. Her child took his first steps here,” adds a mother.
“Thank you for everything you have done for our children. You are surrogate mothers,” greets another parent.
“After work when I arrived here, the girls would offer me a coffee. We would chat. It was my break before heading back home and the second day that awaited me.”remembers another mother.
“It’s a structure that offered eighteen places. And, you realize, we had the children of the children we looked after. Today, these babies are architects, doctors, psychiatrists, and executives for some. The last team is made up of Céline, Solène, Claudie, Isabelle, Bernard, Florence and me, without forgetting the goat BlueBerry, who was placed. We had rabbits, turtles, chickens, roosters and goats. traces Annick.
