The Gay Uncle is in Chicago working on an article for the fabulous parenting magazine COOKIE, about helping a parent choose a preschool. One of the struggles his subject is going through in her selection process concerns her part-time work schedule. Her daughter is currently in an in-home care provider environment–where a nice young lady named Dawn watches over a group of three or four other kids. But given that she works only three days a week, the girl is often confused as to whether or not a particular day is one that she attends day care or not. “Is today a Dawnie day?” the girl will ask each morning. “Yes,” her mom will say. “I have to go to work.” Recently the girl has been pulling on her mother’s heart strings. “Let’s stay at home today,” she’ll say on waking up. Or, having learned about tele-commuting, she’ll suggest over breakfast that mommy “work from home.” She’s even gotten sharp about one of the core benefits work provides. “Let me see your wallet,” she said one recent morning. Mom passed over her purse, and the girl looked thumbed through. “It looks like you already have money in here,” she said. “I don’t think you need to go to work today.”