Letting Go...

"Mama, don't leave me" Is what I heard (what everyone heard) as I was walking out the door of Abe's preschool. I was dropping him off for his first day. All the way in the parking lot I could hear the screams. This was nothing new for me, I had done it before. Caleb probably screamed for the first two weeks of preschool. I can remember the first day dropping him off. It was too hard for me to go home without him so I went to R.J. Julia's and bought a cookbook. Every time I use that cookbook it takes me back to Caleb's first days of school, of my first days of letting go.
It isn't an easy thing to learn how to do, letting go, but its a mandatory thing. So I drove out of that parking lot of Abe's school knowing he would be okay. I knew he would find his niche just like Caleb had three years ago.
When I went to pick him up and we started to walk home he said to me "Mama, I want to stay with my teacher". So turns out I was right, he had a wonderful day. He painted and played, had a snack and even took a bathroom break twice all by himself. Pretty good for a kid who was just officially potty trained the week before.

So now its been a couple of weeks since his first drop off. I wish I could say it was up hill from there, but it wasn't. The second drop off went so bad he had me in tears as he was gripping my t-shirt and begging me not to leave him. But every time I go back to pick him up he has had a great day.
Today was the best drop off of them all, no tears from either one of us!
I know I have many more years of this ahead of me, letting go. I honestly can't imagine putting Abe on the school bus and my youngest being in school all day. What will I do with myself? I guess I better start thinking about it now. But I know it will be good for both of us to spread our wings!