The first day of the rest of our lives

Yesterday was Liam's first day at daycare. Well, make that first hour at daycare. We are easing him into this gradually. I took Liam over to Cindy's house mid-morning so he could spend a bit of time meeting her and getting accustomed to her house and the other kids. Here they are, doing just that.

It was, as you'd expect, harder for me than it was for him. He had no problem with it at all. The plan was that I would go in and spend ten minutes with him, then say goodbye and leave. While I was there Cindy was making small talk - introducing me to the other kids, telling me how long they'd been with her, etc. This was all fine and well, until I burst into tears in the middle of it. I did expect to cry - just thought it would happen as I was walking out the door or, hopefully, not until afterwards, rather than at a completely random moment such as this.

Cindy has been in the business for 15 years and has seen it many times before, so I didn't feel too stupid, although I tried to get it together for Liam's sake because I thought if he saw me upset, that wouldn't bode well for him. I was OK by the time I left the house. Well, I was OK by the time I pulled out of the driveway, having taken the time to sit in my car and have a lil' cry in private in the meantime.When I went back to Cindy's after the hour was up, things were fine, as I knew they would be. They were actually all out for a walk when I got there; I found them around the corner, Liam in a stroller and intently watching the other kids, who had picked up sticks on the walk and were using them as magic wands or something. The only thing that appeared to be upsetting him was that these kids were walking and he was stuck in a stroller. A little incentive can't hurt, right??

As for me, I've decided that the only way I am ever going to be a fit and healthy person again is if I go back to working out in the mornings, as the evening routine with dinner and bath and bedtime is too much of a pull for me to leave the house. Since this was the first day of the rest of our lives, I set the alarm for 6 a.m. and got up and went for a run before Liam woke up, which I hope to continue doing in the future. I am pretty good at getting up early; what I stink at is going to bed early, in order to help the getting up early happen. I want to make this a total lifestyle change - wish me luck, because it's going to take a lot (including possibly giving up Project Runway) in order to make it happen.