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August 25, 2008
Flying solo
Up until Jamie was about two, she was painfully shy. It took her weeks to get off my lap at our playgroup. She would hide behind me when I talked to anyone she didn't know well. It still took her a while to warm up to family on every visit.
Around two, she started turning around. I left her for an hour or so every week while I was at a women's group, and after a few weeks, she was happy to go to them. Sure, the childcare was two doors down from where I was and it was only an hour, but she left me with a smile. The MOMS Club I joined was full of little girls, and Jamie joined the pack. At the mall play area, she would buddy up with other girls without hesitation.
By the time we finally got Jamie into preschool, she was ready. Ready to make friends, ready to leave me, ready to be on her own. She didn't give us a second look the day we dropped her off, and I never once heard a peep about nerves or insecurity. Instead, I heard about how she chased the boys and played with the girls and can we have a playdate with her and her and her?
For weeks I've been hearing about how excited she is to start Kindergarten, and she totally delivered. There were no last minute bedtime nerves. She woke up with a smile, practically ran into the school, and I had to hold her back so I could get a picture of her outside her classroom. The only tears were the ones I was desperately trying to hold back.
When I collected her afterward, she was still smiling, still excited, still happy. She says she made a friend (although she can't remember her name), she made it across two monkey bars before she dropped to the ground, and she really wants to paint. She's ready to walk into the school alone.
I am so proud of my girl.
Posted by me at August 25, 2008 9:18 PM