Suppose I should answer my own question, huh?
I have learned:
That MOST families I deal with are going to be great. They will treat me with respect and dignity, because I am a large part of their child's life and everyday development. There will be, however, families that are not like this. And I must hold my ground, and stick up for myself in these situations. I learned what my policies, guidelines, etc need to be; and because I know for fact that they are reasonable, I must enforce them.
My time is valuable. Even if I do like you, I cannot care for your child for free. Again, I know that my fees are reasonable, and because we agreed on them, I expect them to be paid.
I prefer to work with kids between 10 months and 3 years. I have the most patience with these kids, compared to school aged kids (shudder).
I feel that I am a better parent to my own kids in many ways. I have had the opportunity to learn some more coping strategies, simply by working with different children. I have seen a whole new side of my husband, as he has been a huge support from the very beginning. I am on a little daycare hiatus right now, and when we discussed this, he told me to do what I needed to do for myself. I think he knows that if momma ain't happy, ain't NOBODY happy, LoL.
And lastly; my best day working a "job" doesn't compare to eating messy, drippy popsicles in the summer sunshine while surrounded by happy little children. Awesome.