New daycare, day two

Today I actually get to leave him alone there for the first time. There's no telling how this will go; I can see every possibility from wailing hysterically to complete acceptance. 

The one thing I can't see is him wailing hysterically for much longer than five minutes after I leave, because he's just not that kind of kid. Mostly because he's timid enough that he will be too shy to have that kind of attention for long after I go, and he'd prefer to retreat inside himself and nurse his wounds until I return. Not an attractive option, but it does at least offer the possibility that he will find something to entertain himself during that retreat.

I guess in the end it is all about figuring out how to handle himself in public, how to self-soothe, how to distract himself, how to cope on his own. These are all essential skills, ones that I hope he won't have to use as an adult and older child, but that I know he will. I want him to have these skills so that if life hands him something terrible, he will know what to do to make himself feel better and cope with the situation. 

But damn if it still doesn't suck to watch your kid cry.