When I left my previous job to stay home with my young son, I spent the first few weeks too enamored with him to think about anything else. We would spend our days dancing in the kitchen to country music, snuggling, and bundling up for snowy walks. As you can imagine, when I started freelancing and the idea of daycare became a reality again, thinking about those first days without him was pretty weird. But the volume of work had became such that I couldn’t manage it while also taking care of my son.
And so, we did what millions and millions of other working families do: we got help. For us, it came in the form of a part-time spot at a local children’s center. We took him with us to explore while we filled out paperwork, and then we also did a dry-run, too, getting him up and taking him in, letting him meet his teacher, play with some of the toys, eat at a new table, and experience the routine.
And, then...we dropped him off. Or technically, his dad dropped him off. I stood in the window, watching them drive away. Then it was just me and the dog. If you've ever been a stay-at-home mom whose kid started daycare, you're familiar with that very distinct, odd feeling you have the first time you're home without your kid. Here’s what happens next: