Finally

Well, the day has finally come. Autumn's first day of preschool! She was so excited when she woke up this morning. I packed her a lunch of peanut butter and jelly, baby carrots, Jell-O and chocolate milk and we dropped her off at 9:00. Then Adam went to work and I had the house to myself for a few hours, giving me plenty of time to clean (*coughDesperateHousewivesDVDmarathoncough*). When we picked her up at 1:00 she didn't want to leave until I promised several times that she would be back on Friday. Her teacher Ms. Pam said she was very impressed with Autumn's writing abilities, and she even made a new friend!

Friends and family members have been asking me for the past week if I was going to be a complete emotional wreck on her first day since I'm used to being around her 24/7. I was totally fine. I'm really not the sort of parent who gets separation anxiety any time my daughter is in someone else's care for a few hours. I just relaxed at home and enjoyed my few hours of quiet mommy time and was very glad to see her and hear about her day when 1:00 came around. I'm sure the fact that Autumn's school is so wonderful helped put my mind at ease. It's a very small private school where each child gets plenty of attention and individuality is strongly encouraged, unlike public school where it is tragically smothered. I trust the teachers and director of the school completely, and feel 100% confident that they'll provide Autumn with an education that flows well with our parenting style. It's a place where she can blossom rather than wilt unnoticed in a field of hundreds.

Yes, today is a day of change, but a happy change. I am so proud.