Off to School

 On Tuesday my little girl started preschool.  Back when she was 2, I thought as soon as possible I would be putting her in full time preschool and I wouldn't have a single hesitation.  I mean, after all, Taryn has been in daycare since she was 3 months old.  I'm an old pro at this thing. 

But, when it came time to sign her up, I opted for the Tuesday/Thursday route over the full time option.  I didn't want to rush her through childhood.  I didn't want to deal with dropping off/picking up two kids at separate locations every single day...  And let's face it, I just wasn't ready for her to be in school every day! 

As the day grew near, I got more and more sentimental about her starting preschool.  Lee told me it was just like daycare with a different name, but I disagreed.  There are WAY more kids in her preschool class.  It is at a real live high school.  There are teachers and tables and curriculum and standards.  And now that she has started, she will be in school until she is like 22 years old!  A whole section of her life is behind her.  (Dramatic much?) 

 So, I scheduled a doctor's appointment for Tuesday so I had an excuse to take off of work.  We gathered all of the items she was supposed to take to school.  We tried on 3 different pairs of pants before finding some that I knew she wouldn't struggle with at potty time.  We took some quick pictures and headed off to school.  Lee was on duty, so I had to go solo. 

We got there and Taryn seemed excited but shy.  (Shy is not usually her thing, so this tugged at my heart.)  We found her cubby and unpacked everything.  As I stood there with her, she observed all the activities going on around her, deciding where she wanted to make her move.  I felt the tears welling up in my eyes and knew I had to make my move too.  She walked over to one of the teachers who was building blocks with two kids and asked "I play too?"  The teacher welcomed her over and started showing her what to do.  I knew the I had to bail before she saw me cry, so I choked out "Mommy's leaving, I love you."  She kissed me and said bye and I bolted for the door.  The tears were falling before it latched behind me.  I hurried to the hall trying to avoid the confused looks of the high school students wondering who this blubbering, pregnant mess was in their halls. 

As the day went on, I thought about her often, but had composed myself.  I was still anxious to pick her up!  When I walked in, she saw me and yelled MOMMY and ran to have me pick her up and hug her.  But, after that, she didn't want to leave.  The report from the teacher was good.  She was a bit shy but she listened well and played HARD on the playground.  Oh, and she didn't nap, but she did lay on her cot with her eyes shut. 

After eluding me by hiding in the "fort" where I couldn't get her, we finally were able to leave the classroom.  As soon as we hit the car, the NO NAP monster reared its ugly head. 

The whole way home I saw various versions of this dirty look in my rear view mirror and I wondered...  Can I take her back to preschool? 

Then, after we returned home, at 5:30pm I realized that it was Tuesday.  And Tuesday is ballet/tap class at 5:45pm.  We threw on her tights and leotard and headed there.  To say she was beat at the end of the night is an understatement.  She slept for over 11 hours and then took a 2.5 hour nap at daycare today. 

Tomorrow we do it all again!  Only this time Lee is on drop-off duty.  Thank goodness!