Firsts

With a new child comes a long list of First's that there are to look forward to. Among those, I have experienced some of the exciting ones: first time seeing and holding my baby, his first bath, his first smile, rolling over, sitting up, scooting, first words (Ma-ma), crawling, first tooth, first steps...I could go on and on. Just 10 short months ago, these were things that I entirely took for granted. It really is an exciting thing to experience life for the first time, all over again through your child!

Then there are those First's that are frankly a little tough for Mommy to endure: first shot, first boo-boo, first time to leave him, first time to leave him with a stranger, first time to be away from him over night...

This weekend it was 'first time to be away from him over night.' Man, talk about a tough thing to do. Jeff took my little monster to Atlanta for his God-daughter's 2nd birthday and I, of course, was stuck here because it was my drill weekend. I knew I had to let him go, if for no other reason than the fact that it was inevitable - that I wouldn't be able to keep him under my wing forever. Listen to me, I sound like I've shipped him off to college or something. But that's the point. It is so hard to loosen your grasp on your children, because you know that as soon as you do, they are going to grow right up and leave you. It happens over night before you even know it and I am just beginning to understand this.

Today, it was his first day in the Toddler class at day care (I have shed tears about this one.) For some odd reason, I am a little more torn up about this than I was about leaving him at day care in the first place. Well, don't get me wrong, I was a basket case when I first began having to take him to day care. I was so worried that he wouldn't get the care and love that I felt like he deserved. But the ladies in the nursery were wonderful with him. They were even tearing up at losing him. So now, even though he's not quite a year old, they have decided that it is time for him to move up to the toddler class. This is so difficult for me, not only because we will be dealing with a new set of teachers and leaving the teachers that we already love, but because I don't want to lose my 'baby'. I know, I know, he'll always be my baby. But as exciting as it is to experience all of these First's I don't think that I'm entirely prepared to see him grow up just yet.