I checked out a new gym and pool today; the facilities include a small daycare center. After introducing my son to the daycare staff and the play equipment, they invited me to leave him with them for the duration of their introductory tour, which lasted another thirty minutes.
To my surprise, I felt comfortable doing so. But then I kept thinking during the tour: What am I doing? He's never been away from his mom or dad in public for more than a few minutes. Yes, I have a babysitter dropping by once a week for a few hours, during which time I usually leave the house to run errands or take a Mommy break in a cafe; but that invasion of otherness occurs on his home turf, with someone he's gotten to know quite well.
When I came back to the daycare room, he gazed at me with a sad, slightly bewildered expression. What a heartbreaking thing it is to see even that level of angst on his face; and yet, he hadn't cried, the daycare person told me. I'm not so much proud of him, as astonished. Rarely have I felt as strongly as today that my little guy is becoming his own person.
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