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This morning after I dropped my daughter off at her preschool, I was walking back to the car through the parking lot and realized that I was smiling. She is so happy when we get there in the morning, I love all the fun projects they have planned for the day, and I leave to start my work-day feeling pretty awesome about where she will spend the next six hours. That’s cause for a smile, don’t you think?
And then I remembered how anxious I was about her transition to preschool last summer. We’d had a full-time nanny before that and we loved her. She was really part of the family, my (slightly) older sister, as I’d call her. But we moved and our daughter turned three so it was time for her to be with a group of kids and in a structured environment. Since I tend to overthink things to begin with, you can imagine how far I took this:
What if she is over-stimulated and becomes hyper?
What if she gets all dirty and her hair gets all messed up?
What if she doesn’t sleep there?
What if she doesn’t eat there?
What if she gets sick all the time?
I’d work myself into a stess ball going over all the unpleasant scenarios and doubt our decision 100 times a day. I’d drive my husband nuts as he would calmly ask me what I propose as an alternative. (I didn’t have a good one.) I REALLY stressed over this decision.
If you have kids in daycare or preschool or school, of course you know the punchline to this story — everything worked out and we’re thrilled with the choice we made.
She is stimulated and is sometimes overly excited, but in a good way.
She gets dirty all the time and her hair is always messy.
She refuses to take a nap at school.
She eats fine some days and doesn’t on others.
She gets sick pretty often, especially in the winter.
But that’s par for the course and it doesn’t take away from the fact that she loves her preschool, she is learning a lot, she has made great friends, and I get to smile in the morning after dropping her off.
Now, if I could learn my lesson and not stress about other stuff… but that’s a bit of wishful thinking.
What have you stressed about as it relates to your kids or work or anything else that has worked out just fine? Share in the comments1
This entry was posted on Thursday, February 7th, 2008 at 2:21 am and is filed under Family, Work/Life Balance, Your life.
Tags: childcare, daycare, nanny, nanny vs. daycare, stress
February 7th, 2008 at 9:38 am
I’m probably a bad one to ask as I stress over everything, but, sending our September-born daughter to school on time rather than waiting has turned out quite fine.
I have learned over the years that after a certain point, no one really cares if they were breast or bottle fed, or, how old they were when they started kindergarten.
February 7th, 2008 at 10:23 am
I used to stress out about (and still occasionally do) my daughter being an only child. I worry she may not know how to properly share with others. I worry she may be too dependent of me and Dad2Amara. I worry she’ll be spoiled.
But I have learned that those are honestly problems that can happen with only children and children with siblings.
My daughter is one of the most caring individuals. I am so proud of her. And I’ve learned that it takes good parenting, not siblings, to raise a good child.
February 7th, 2008 at 8:24 pm
I tend to overthink EVERYTHING. And, as you say in your own case, stuff usually works out fine. But, still, I find it hard to let go. So glad I’m not the only one.
February 8th, 2008 at 4:06 am
My company wooed me back to work from my maternity leave early and I agonised over leaving her in childcare. I was scared she’d think the woman was her mum, that she wouldn’t eat, sleep properly and that this would cause her to be unsettled at home. As it turned out, she had a great time, didn’t sleep quite as much but she was happy. I had thought I’d spend the day worrying about her but it turned out to be fine, which is quite considering that I’d thought I’d fall apart at work!
February 8th, 2008 at 4:07 am
Sorry I meant quite ‘funny’ considering that I’d thought I’d fall apart at work!