He's such a big boy

Our Tuesday morning was a bit different around these parts. 

And exciting. 

And a little heartbreaking.

Not only was I busy making breakfast for our family, 

but I was also busy packing lunches. 

Two lunches, to be exact. 

You see, Tuesday was Sam's first day at Mother's Day Out. 

And to say he was thrilled is a huge understatement. 

He's been ready. 

Which he made sure I knew every time we dropped Isabella off at her preschool last year.

By throwing a MAJOR fit when it was time for us to leave.

That was fun,...

Anyway, he's been talking about going to school for months. 

He picked out his very own Toy Story backpack. 

And his very own Shrek lunchbox.

Which burps when you press his belly. 

And Sam LOVES! 

And therefore makes it do so ALL THE TIME.

Which is not at all annoying.

Really!

He was the poster child of excitement.

 Which in all honesty put my heart at ease.

I didn't know what my reaction would be when letting go of my little one.

But I've been pleasantly surprised at how well I'm handling it,
if I may say so myself.

Scott was not able to go with us for Sam's first day due to a work conflict, 

but my Mom and I took him.

And although he was SO excited, 

I did see some signs of trepidation creeping through on our way to school.

But he armed himself with a small dose of valor and off he went.

He was ready to take on the world.

He even posed for me inside the school right before arriving at his classroom:

 

And then we found his assigned classroom. 

And everything went downhill from there.

REALLY quick!

It sounded like a torture chamber inside.

One kid was crying so bad even I thought he was being abused.

And immediately Sam held on to my thigh.

For dear life.

Crying uncontrollably.

Repeating "No, Mama!" over and over and over again.

While I stood there like an idiot wondering what to do.

Should I sweep him up off the floor and make a run for the exit?

But it was too late,....

His teacher was busy prying him from me.

And reassuring me everything would be OK.

"Just walk away mom!", she said.

The nerve!

And although it took everything from me not to linger around the building 

like a crazed stalker.

I did walk away.

And I ran some errands.

And accomplished a whole lot of things.

In a short amount of time.

But I was also the first mom to arrive for pick up.

Eager to hear the report on the day's events.

He did great!

And they love him!

And he ate all of his lunch.

But he did not sleep.

Although he was "more or less" still and quiet during rest time.

But more importantly, he's excited about going back again.

 And this he told me himself.

While enjoying a nice frozen celebratory treat from TCBY.

And all was fine in our world.

And I was able to return to my regular breathing.