Bridget's High-Profile BFF Saves the Day

We drop Bridget off at "school" - a nice part-time day care close to home - but we like to think of her doing her post-graduate studies there, baby glasses and all. It helps me get more work done at home without feeling guilty that we're not working on animal sounds or building her vocabulary all day long. I'm lucky in that I already had my parents watching her one day a week practically since she was born, but I found out that just wasn't enough time to get everything done. It used to be really easy to manage her at home, but little by little she started to grow up, and then she started walking and talking and actually needed to be watched a little bit *the nerve* and the decision was actually pretty easy, we both needed a new arrangement.

Now the days she's home are filled with more play time and fun time, than those stressful days of panicking trying to meet a deadline while shoving a non-stop supply of cheerios in her mouth to keep her happy and busy. It certainly wasn't easy sending her to "school" after having her home with me for so long or just at my parents house, but she has fun and socializes with other kids and I don't feel guilty about trying to concentrate on my client mock-up while listening to her whine to be picked up at the side of my chair.

She is mostly excited to go there and when we even mention the word "school" she will actually look for her backpack, "ba puk", go to the door, sit on the first step of the stairs, sippy cup in mouth and just wait for dad. She knows she's in for a wait while dad finds keys, wallets and everything else he's usually missing in the morning.

Last week, she moved up to the toddler room (sigh - already I felt like I was sending her off to college or something - the toddler room... seriously? how did that happen.) The transition to this room has been a little rough since she was never a very good napper in the infant room, she certainly isn't better in the toddler room where they sleep on cots - COTS people! A 16 month old on a cot - crazy, isn't it? But they all do it - well, all of them except you know who.

So, today as I dropped her off - which I should preface by saying - I don't do drop offs - they suck saying goodbye and even though she is usually happy and runs off to play, occasionally when I do the drop off she gets clingy to me a little and may even start crying - so was the case today. She was sad and didn't even want me to put her down. She was doing that little kid - I'm just going to hold my legs straight out as you try and set me down so you can't possibly put me on the ground - move. It was so sad and then the tears.

Just as I'm trying to plan my exit strategy before I start getting clingy and crying, this adorable little girl (seriously - I've mentally named her Suri and believe one day I'll bump into Tom or Katie as they run in to pick her up -she looks that much like her) walks over to me, tugs on my pant leg a little and in toddler jibberish says something like, "Brid-shet, Brid-shet, no cry, no cry." Bridget looks down at her, rubs her eyes a little then reaches down for her with a smile. Aahh, huge exhale, my anxiety level drops 18 decibels and I remember why this is really a great thing for both of us.

Thank you, Suri...do you even know how much better you made my morning?