Anna goes to daycare

By K.J. Cardinal

Sure today is a big day for McCain and Obama, but I think it's a much bigger day for Anna, Daddy and Pack Network. Today is Anna's first day at daycare.

With a busy upcoming few weeks for me with traveling to conference championships all over New England, Angie and I felt no time was better than now to give daycare a shot for Anna.

This week Anna is only going half days to get into the swing of things, but our thought is that every Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, Anna will be going to daycare. We are taking her to a place that is literally less than a mile down the street called Curious Kids and they give Intel employees a 10% discount, so it's very convenient and somewhat affordable...I know, you've never heard daycare and affordable in the same sentence before.

Anyway, Anna was a sleepy head this morning, so I had to wake her up at 8:15 to get her to the daycare for 8:30. Giving myself only a 15-minute window goes to show you how close the place is.

I got her changed and out the door we went. Anna was her usual easy-going self. I dropped her off and tried not to make a big deal about it so she wouldn't fuss or cry once I left.

She definitely didn't fuss and cry, as the second I set her down she went motoring over to a little girl and started playing with her blocks. In a matter of seconds, I was out of her life :(

It didn't seem like a big deal for Anna, but it is a big deal for me. I definitely want to stay home with her everyday, but work calls and it's really what we need to do so I can devote more time toward Pack Network, which will only benefit our family and Anna more in the long run.

We feel very fortunate as a family that Anna was able to spend her first 395 days on this planet being looked after by a parent, so I guess we can't complain. But I'd be lying if I said it didn't make me sad to know that my little girl is at daycare and growing up soooo much faster than I want.