Truth #1 – We hope our kids cry a little when we leave

I was fully prepared to write my first post with an entirely different truth until this morning.  I just finished weeping so here’s to hoping I can pull myself together long enough to write.

First of all, tell the truth.  The first time you leave your new baby, you definitely hope they will miss you, and what better way to show you than by crying a little.  When they get older, it’s not that you want them to be hysterical but at least ask about you a couple times or maybe even fuss a bit at night.  RIGHT?

Everything seems to come back and bite you in the ass.  Gia just turned 2 and goes to preschool twice a week.  For 7 whole months she has cried every single morning when I leave.  I never wanted that.  My kid was for sure the one the teacher’s dreaded welcoming at the door.  When I would pick her up at the end of the day, the teacher would say things like “she only cried for 5 minutes today”.  The other moms would stare at me and you just knew what they were thinking; “poor lady, that little girl must be a handful.”  Change was sure to come…  Last week I noticed she started to improve; she only teared up a bit but I was in no way prepared for this morning.  She asked me if today was a school day and I said yes.  Usually the pouting would start there.  It did not.  I drove her to school and walked her in, ready for the protesting to begin.  It did not.  I took off her shoes, put on her slippers and walked her in.  I was sure it would start then but it did not.  Like all the other mornings, I scanned the room to make sure the teacher was available to take her because any minute now she’s gonna start to flip out… but no.  Instead, off she went, grabbed the teacher’s hand, turned around and said “Bye Mommy”.  My knees buckled, I said “I love you Gia, I’m so proud of you”.  Who was crying now?

Photos from: here