Daycare from Daddy's perspective

This past week was a tough one, all around. From my perspective I could see the difficulty that both Pam and Popo were having. For the first time in 14 months, Popo was not only going to be going through the day without him but was also preparing to leave us for basically the rest of the year. Also for the first time in 14 months, mommy had to drop off the little guy to a somewhat unknown situation instead of the loving care of grandma. From my perspective, it was also very, very difficult. While it is no doubt difficult to let go of the in-home care of Popo, I knew that at the same time this was going to be the first of many "letting go of the hand holding". If not now, then in 4 years when he starts school. And again when he goes to college. Then marriage. It's been a bit of an emotional roller coaster and he's only 14 months!! On Tuesday and Wendesday nights, when I came home from work, JC was pretty traumatized by this sudden change. He was clinging to mom for dear life and I felt like a stranger. On Thursday, I dropped in at the daycare for lunch and he spotted me right away and reached out desperately for me to hold him. When I returned him back to the teacher, he started crying watching me walk away. That simple 7 minutes of him holding on to me, made my entire week. I've come to realize, in my short time as a father, that these emotional ups and downs is the new reality for Pam and I. I'm just glad that this one is relatively easy (it is just daycare after all), and by the end of the week he was already starting to adjust. That's just as well, because until I get more experience, that's all I can handle right now.