Going Back on the GoTrain

For the second consecutive year, I take Sienna to go on a commuter train downtown and leave her with a daycare nearby for the day. She has been looking forward to the train rides all year round. She went to bed so late last night. Yet she was up without a word of complaint this morning - we got a train to catch!

Only as we got off the train though, Sienna started to realize that she had to be left with a bunch of strangers for the whole day. She started to beg me not to go. I played cold and hard even though my heart went all out for her. I just held her hand and headed for the daycare. A teacher there came and leaned over, "Hey, do you remember me?" Sienna was nodding and still she was crying out when I took off...

She did seem to remember everything about what was exactly a year ago. When I went to pick her up at the end of the day, she refused to come out from the back of the building, like last year -- there were stinky dumpsters there.

On the train ride home, Sienna followed her own train of thoughts: "Ok, Mommy, I am going to come again tomorrow. I am not going to cry. I have fun. But you have to come early. I will miss you. I will miss you so much..."