Yesterday Rowan went to his first day of preschool. After getting his things loaded into his cubby and leaving my little note on his spot of the bulletin board, I kissed him goodbye and watched him quietly follow the teacher into the group of playing children. He didn't cry when I left, and he also wasn't jumping with excitement -- it was clear he was just making sense of the whole situation, and I knew he would do fine. Needless to say I got in the car and finally allowed myself to cry about it, feeling a wide range of emotions including fear about leaving him with people I didn't personally know, shock that time has gone by so quickly that I've dropped him off in a preschool where he will talk, run, sing, and play like a little boy, guilt that I am not the typical stay-at-home mom, relief that we found a great preschool where Tom and I feel confident Rowan will thrive, and -- when I saw another mom walking through the parking lot to drop off her newborn -- a great sense of appreciation for how blessed we are to have been able to wait until Rowan is so alert, playful, and aware that he can really benefit from the preschool experience.
Naturally I kept my cell phone within sight all day, but (as expected, of course) nobody called from the school to ask questions or report problems. The principal had invited me to call during the day and be patched back to Rowan's room to see how he was doing, but I resisted the urge to do that because not only did I not want to indulge my unfounded, irrational concerns, I also didn't want to take the teachers away from the other children when they were in the middle of something. When I arrived in the afternoon to pick him up, Rowan was outside at recess holding onto the teacher's leg. Both teachers reported that Rowan had been a bit fussy in the morning before the first snack, but after that he adjusted quickly and played with all the new toys, exploring the room from corner to corner. He took a very nice 1.5 hour nap, and ate his meals and snacks quite well. From the little day-summary sheet I received, it looks like he ate his lunch so well that he got refills on pears and green beans! Apparently he was a little hesitant about being touched by the other children, but otherwise they said his day was much closer to a seasoned class member than a first-timer.
