Proud that we did it!

I decided to try to leave Munkey at the Gold's Gym day care for the first time last week. I was really stressing about it because it's the only place she's ever been left that wasn't with family and I was worried about how she would do. I was trying not to act too stressed out about it around her though so she wouldn't pick up any anxiety from me.

As it turns out, it was what I would consider a nightmare day to have left her there. There were 40 kids in a room the size of our living room, so much screaming and crying that I couldn't hear the person talking that I was leaving her with. I felt even worse leaving her in such chaos. If I were left in that kind of situation as a child I probably would have just died.

I sat down in a chair in the room to fill out some paperwork and Munkey was clinging to my leg at first but then she just wandered off into the chaos. She headed right for the play kitchen, a particular favorite toy of hers. I left for my workout and she didn't even look up or try to see where I was.

The whole workout all I could do was wonder what she was doing and if she was OK. I made myself stay and workout for the whole hour even though I wanted to go rescue her and myself after 10 minutes. When I went to get her, it was still loud and chaotic but she made her way over to me, being followed by two other little girls she had made friends with I guess. Munkey wasn't in a hurry or a panic for me to grab her, she looked as if she had been having fun. The lady watching them said she did fine. I guess all my anxiety was for nothing.

The next few days afterwords, every time we drove past the gym she would say "Go play children" and point to the gym. It was a good sign that she really did have fun.

Today I took her again, mid-day so as to avoid the morning rush. It was much better, only about 12 kids in the room this time. I went early thinking that I would sit in that chair again and let her wander off on her own instead of just dumping her over the gate abruptly. I walked in and she ran right for the gate, when I opened it she ran for the play kitchen and some girls came over to see what she was doing. She never looked back as I was signing her in and she was happily playing with toys and friends when I returned in an hour.

I'm glad that she does not seem to have inherited my dislike of crowds and especially my anxiety around crowds of children (which is actually much much better now, if you can believe that). It makes me happy for her that she will hopefully not have that kind of anxiety to deal with in her life. I love that she seems to like all kinds of different situations and groups of people. She is definitely more like her Dad this way and I am thankful for it.