"You're doing worse than Jack is"

That is what I was told today by one of Jack's teachers when I dropped him off at school. Each day I have dropped him off, I have asked his teachers how he did the previous day. According to them he does better every day he is there. He has some trouble transitioning from one activity to the next (he has always had an issue with transitions), but he is interacting well and doing great for his first month at pre-school. He hasn't quite figured out naps at school yet, so when he gets home from school he is EXHAUSTED to say the least. Yesterday he was sitting on my lap after school and I was asking him about his day when all of the sudden he stopped answering me. He had fallen asleep in my lap, which is a big deal because he NEVER falls asleep in our laps. That's how tired he was. Anyway, today when I asked his teacher how he did yesterday, she told me, then I proceeded to remind her about his blanket for nap, his hat and gloves for the playground, etc. That's when she told me I had to go because I wasn't handling the morning dropoff as well as Jack was. Apparently I am supposed to drop and dash. I'm not ready to let Jack go that easily yet!

So, I start my new job on Monday. Lately I have been antsy to get back to a "real" job because I find myself getting frustrated with the grind of being a Stay-at-home-Dad. Don't get me wrong, I loved the stay at home gig, but for anyone who has done it, you know how tough it is to have a toddler as your boss. So, Michelle did a great job at finding Jack a great pre-school (aside from the fact that they scolded me today), and I went out and found a job. I am looking forward to us being a 2-income family again, though most of the 2nd income will get eaten up by school costs.

Having said that, I know I am going to miss my days with Jack. Obviously we will have mornings, nights and weekends together, but I know I will miss the days we spent together over the last year+. I get teary eyed now just thinking about him out in the big boy world at school rather than hanging out here with me. I will always cherish the walks we took, playing basketball at the playground, our trips to watch hockey practices, the time we spent at the Aquarium, stumbling across snakes at the beach park, our afternoon drives to see the horses, meeting Mommy for lunch on a whim, raking leaves all afternoon, our epic games of hide and seek, bike rides, playing hockey in the dining room, vacuuming, baking (yeah, I said it, we baked sometimes), etc.

Jack, you're the toughest boss I've ever had, but I've never loved a boss more. You probably wanted to fire me a few times over the last year or so, but I would work for you again any day. I love you buddy, do well in school. I only hope and pray you have benefited as much from our time together as I have.