Back to School

This morning, Norah and I were up a bit early, so we were ready to run by 7:15. I figured with the extra start, we'd do an extra mile, so instead of 3 miles, we did 4. It was an incredibly sweaty 4 miler (the temp wasn't all that bad, but the humidity? whoa, lordy, it was thick out there!), but it was nice to sneak in the extra mile.

Aside from the morning's run, the big event of the day was the return to school: For both Norah and I. My classes don't resume until Monday, but today was the start of the term for faculty, so I needed to be on campus (and I really needed that office time because I had done zero term planning before today). My return to school means Norah's return to school, so today was her first day back at daycare, and her very first day in "the big girl room" (aka, the toddler one room).No, she didn't wear the above outfit to school today. Goodness, I put her in pants! But a jersey and diaper are perfect for chillin at home ;)

In the big girl room, they sit in little chairs and eat their lunch at a table, they take their naps on little cots instead of cribs, they learn to wash their hands, and eventually learn to use the little toilet (if a toilet can be cute, this toilet is SO darn cute!), they wear their shoes, and they run around and play and do big kid stuff. Pretty exciting for a fresh faced 1 year old!

Admittedly this transition filled me with mixed emotions today: I am excited to start the fall term (my favorite "school time" is this time of year), and I do like being able to drop her off and go to work (where I can go to the bathroom alone!), it was still tough for me to drop her off and leave her. I was fine at the drop off, gave her a simple kiss and hug goodbye, but once I got out to the car, I choked up a bit. I figured it's fine to have a tear or two, and I'm sure every fall is gonna greet me with the same emotions, so I may as well accept them.

Norah? She was fine. She hardly noticed I left her; she was too engrossed in the yummy lunch they'd placed in front of her (I drop her off at noon). And when I picked her up at 4, she gave me a quick smile and wave "hello," but then she returned to the fascinatingly new toy she was engrossed in. Her attitude seemed to say, "Oh, you're here? That's nice. I'm gonna keep playin' with this."

All in all, we both had a good first day back: She slept and ate well while at daycare, and seemed to l-o-v-e the stimulatingly different environment; and I had a productive afternoon getting my course's syllabi ready. I can't believe the summer is already over, but the next few months are my favorite time of year, so there's lots to look forward to: Football, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and...

...cooler weather, which means: Racing season is nearly upon us!