First Day of Daycare...We May Never Go Back

The long awaited retelling of Kinley's first day of daycare....

First day of daycare was a tad traumatic--for both myself and Mckinley. It started out great. We got up and ready for the big day, the whole time I was telling Kinley "you are going to have such fun today" "you are going to meet all kinds of new friends". Little did she know that she was about to be abandoned.

We get to the daycare center and Mckinley is wide-eyed, staring at all the other kiddos. So when one of the teachers takes her (or as I remember it--ripped her from the safety of my loving arms) and puts her at an activity table I don't think Mckinley knew what to think. The kids of course swarmed "the new kid" and Kinley seemed to do ok with it. I on the other hand stood there fighting the tears back. Then one of the teachers had to make me speak...the flood gates were now open. All she asked was "is she your first? your only?" and the tears started streaming down my face despite my best efforts to hold them in. All the while Mckinley is oblivious to the fact that I am about to leave. I think she must have assumed that I was going to stick around and just let her play, but I also had a first day of school to get to. Before she was torn nicely taken from me I had said my good-byes and told her I would be back soon to get her, so instead of tipping her off to the fact that I was in fact leaving I just quietly watched for a few minutes and then made my tearful exit.

So the rest of my morning went a little like this:

-Meet all kinds of nice people at my school
-Worry about Kinley
-Meet my new kids
-Worry about Kinley
-Do some classroomy stuff with kids
-Worry about Kinley
-Worry some more about Kinley
-Eat lunch and worry about Kinley
-Call to check on Kinley....

Me: Hi, this is so-and-so and I'm calling to check on Mckinley
Child-snatching Teacher: Oh, Mckinley? Well she is doing better now. She had a rough morning though. She was crying earlier.
Me: Oh she was? Like when was she crying?
Child-snatching Teacher: Oh since you left.
Me: Really? Until when?
Child-snatching Teacher: Ummmmm lunch.
Me: ?!?!?!?
Child-snatching Teacher: Then she fell asleep.
Me: Well, she does like to eat. (have no idea what else to say)
Child-snatching Teacher: Ok see you later.
Me: Ok see you soon. (Inside: Horrified!!!!)

Rest of my afternoon.....

-Worry about Kinley.

School is out! Rush to go get Kinley. Get to daycare, go in classroom.....ummmm where is my daughter? New teacher tells me "oh she is over here". I go and look and Mckinley is flat on her back, staring at the ceiling, crying. I was terrified! She then looks at me and proceeds to cry harder. Not really the greeting I was hoping for.

In any event, her first day was a bit more scary than either of us had anticipated. I am hopeful that she will learn to love playing with other kids though and daycare will eventually become fun....it could be torture for both of us always though and we may never go back.