Glory
There's something incredibly glorious about being cool in the eyes of a child. Kids are real about their feelings. If you make them mad, they'll let you know in a heartbeat. But, if they love you, it's with their whole little heart. Aww....
Beyond the adoring approval of the rugrats themselves, there's still considerable glory in the daycare profession if you keep the right attitude. That is, it's generally acknowledged that any level of teaching or caring for children carries some importance—it's the reason those helicopter parents are so ready to jump down your throat if they feel their kid is being mistreated, or understimulated. Or overstimulated. Or coddled, or any of the other zillion complaints they come up with.
It might not feel like it when you're covered in glitter and glue and the constant shrieking is punctuating the panging aches of your migraine...but these years and moments are hugely formative for these kids.
The glory comes in seeing a kid break a cookie in half to share with the boy next to him, or when a little girl sheepishly apologizes for accidentally knocking over her friend's block castle. It's in the tiny moments that show your messages are getting across. Not buzzer-beater-for-the-championship glory, but rewarding nonetheless.