Princeton Progress

I hesitate to even put this in writing for fear it might jinx us, but I think we've finally turned the corner at Princeton.  Only about a month later than I expected.

Not surprisingly, the first few days after returning from vacation were tough.  Lots of tears at drop-off and even a couple of tear-filled pick-ups.  I was getting discouraged.  Not because we are unhappy with Princeton.  Quite the opposite, in fact.  But never in my wildest dreams did I expect the fear of strangers and mama's boy phase that Jackson was experiencing.  I'm still not sure which came first:  daycare transition causing clingy phase or clingy phase that just happened to manifest during daycare transition.  Either way, it was really wearing on me. 

Of course, it wasn't nearly as bad as the first few days when we would have to pry his arms from around my neck while he screamed my name.  But leaving a whimpering boy in the morning and picking up a tear-stained boy in the afternoon is hard on a momma. 

I talked with his teachers every day.  I think his pouting at drop-off was more for my benefit because as soon as I was out of sight he would jump right into whatever activity the kids were doing.  Throughout the day, he was playing well, eating well and taking good naps.  It wasn't until late afternoon, when other parents would start arriving for pick-ups that he would get upset and start asking for Drew & I.  He would also get upset if a shift change occurred and there was suddenly a teacher in the room he was not familiar with (hence the fear of strangers).  His teachers kept assuring me that for the majority of the day he was absolutely fine and that it would just take time. 

Of course, in my mind I knew all of this was true.  And I really didn't worry (much) about him during the day.  But boy was I anxious for this phase to pass.

Thursday he ran right into the classroom without a whimper.  I immediately texted Drew who replied "Hooray!"  When I arrived after work I snuck a peek into the classroom to find him playing happily.  No tears!  Miss Kelly (the lead teacher who is there from 7 am - 3 pm) left me a note saying he had a fantastic day and seemed to have finally gotten completely comfortable with her.  Miss Kaitlyn (an afternoon teacher who is normally there at pick-up) also told me it had been an awesome day.  I was thrilled.

Friday morning was also tearless.  Drew did the pick-up Friday afternoon but again, there were no tears and the report was that it had been another great day.

Heck, the next thing you know I'll probably be lamenting because he's more excited to go "to school" than he is to stay at home with us!  I'm a mother after all, there's always something I can find to concern myself with!

For now, I'm just going to be pleased that the worst is behind us and hope that I didn't just jinx the whole thing!