Welcome to Daycare

Griffin handled his first drop off at daycare like a champ this morning. He went willingly to his new teacher and bestowed smiles all around. For a moment, I wasn’t quite sure he was even the same child I had known and loved for the past seven months. Smiling at strangers? Who are you little man?

I, however, was a mess. I cried the whole drive to the school, cried on the walk from the car to the classroom, cried during the drop off, and cried the whole drive to work. Now I have a headache. Big swollen, teary eyes and a huge ol’ headache.

I guess the teachers and the center's director were expecting my mommy messiness. Chris dropped off Aidan and Brennan before I went in with Griffin. Upon seeing Chris, the Director of the Center gave him a sympathetic smile and told him to "run for the hills" before I got there with Griffin. It's good to know I have a rep as the crazy crying mom. The Director shared this story with me as I cried with Griffin in his classroom. I tried to put up a half hearted defense and replied she couldn't have possibly guaranteed I would cry as I did at Griffin's first drop off. Her response? She chuckled, mildly snorted and said, "Don't you remember? You cried when I gave you the tour of the center before any of your kids actually attended school here."

Then one of the other teachers in Griffin's room chimed in with her own memory of me standing outside of Aidan's classroom for a good twenty minutes after his first drop off with tears streaming down my face.

Hmm, well - I guess I am a pretty good bet for the crying thing. But most importantly of all - Griffin did not cry today at drop off. Not a tear. I left with an image of his hesitant smile aimed at his teacher as she held him. That didn't keep me from crying though. Sigh.