Farewell to Pippa

So it is official. On Tuesday Andy goes back to school and Jack starts at the new daycare. Sigh. It has taken me a little time to get here, but honestly, this is really for the best. Jack is a mover and a shaker....and a yeller and a dancer...so he is ready to be with a group of kids playing and running about and learning and what not.

That being said. It is possible I might have cried on Pippa's voicemail last night. Don't get me wrong. It wasn't like a "Plllleeeeeassse don't go!" call. Actually the opposite. I called her to tell her thank you. For everything. But I got her voicemail. I decided to leave a message just in case she was screening my call worried I was calling to yell or whatever. Obviously I come off as the person who will call and yell at you. It is just in my whorish nature to be mean.

So yeah.....perhaps that voice message got a bit out of hand....But the good news is: Pippa called back and turns out she hasn't been able to get her voicemails! Cool! So now I can just pretend that never happened and she will never hear my blubbering on a message as I thank her. What a sap. I know.

I was much better talking to her for the reals than with the voicemail. I guess I got that warm-up cry out of the way. Obviously she still wants to see him and asked if she could watch him when we went out to dinner and what not.

So yes, it does all revolve around her dog. He is going to be immoble for a few months and she knows that Jack is a goer. So as disappointed as I was at the idea of giving up his one-on-one swimming lessons with her and trips to library reading hour and what not, I know that sitting around in her house for a few months isn't really his speed.

Long story short, onward and upward. We checked out the new daycare on Tuesday night. We arrived to meet some of the other little kids, all boys. One of them is just a month younger than Jack and the other two were very sweet. I set Jack down and he dove right into playing with them and exploring all the toys.

I will spare you the incredibly long details, but basically this is the real deal. Pippa was more like leaving your child with your mom or a close friend. This is a daycare. There is a schedule, and a menu, and permission slips to apply diaper ointment. Whilst looking at the schedule and reading all the "wash hands" I found myself hoping Jack doesn't leave there an OCD hand washer. Cross that bridge when we get there I suppose.

It will be good. He is at the age where it will soon be time to start disciplining him and thinking about potty training and learning manners. So she will definitely do this. Pippa admitted the first few minutes we talked to her that she was bad with discipline. She can't say no to her babies. And while I have a hard time disciplining as well.....Jack laughs at me when I tap his hand and say "no"....he must not think I am serious?....I know that he will need that very soon.

It is a bit of a stretch money-wise, but thankfully Jack turns 1 in two months (fuck me, where have I been?) so then the price goes back down to just a little more than Pippa charged. We'll make it. It will all work out for the best and really Jack is just fine with the whole thing. It is Andy and I who have to make the mental adjustment to our hippie, schedule-free, laid-back, flowing ways.

In the end, I am just so thankful. I couldn't have asked for a better way for this to all work out. It really has been a nice transition for me going from being at home with him, to going back to work but leaving him with Andy, to leaving him with Pippa, and now to this new step. I told Kelly that if I had to go from staying home with Jack to dropping him off at a daycare, I would have seriously had a harder time with the transition. Knowing that he got cuddles and attention and one-on-one time for 10 months of his life makes me thankful. And knowing he is totally ready for socializing and learning and being rambunctious makes me thankful that the transition is happening perfectly. It really couldn't have worked out better.