Moving onward: no more Mother's Day Out program for us.

Eastwood Christian Children's Center (EC3) in East Nashville is absolutely a wonderful program.

That said, my little one just didn't take to the separation from mama right now. His discomfort escalated at each parting, and while he got something out of going and genuinely liked the other children and the staff, he cried each day and because he's so ding dang verbal, could tell me: I do not want to go to school. I just want to be with Mommy. I am sad. I miss Mommy. I do not like the classroom. I do not want to stay here.

If it'd been manipulative crying or discomfort, that'd been one thing, but this became increasing and genuine distress and in order to get him to stay, I'd have had to peel him from my body daily. Yes, it broke my heart. Yes, it wore me out. And I wish it'd have worked for him, and for us. But I don't want his lasting memories of the experience to be traumatizing or to be one wherein I didn't listen to him and didn't maintain his trust.

As a dedicated homeschooling / life learning parent, I'm okay with this. But as the wife of a spouse and co-parent gone seven days a week and as a working mother (aren't we all, I know!) with increasing need to earn and growing professional responsibility, I'm a little on edge w/r/t juggling my time. I KNOW it will all work out, I just can't see yet what it looks like.

What I do notice is that with my escalating work schedule, my child's neediness is also ramping UP. I understand that. And thank heavens his father and I are share the same viewpoint on this.

I'm trying to stay focused on patience and letting the most right thing reveal itself.

So we're done with this experiment for now and will be finding our way to the next ones. I don't see it as a failure on any of our parts, more as a learning to be applied to how we do things as a whole.