On Monday Laura has her first day at big school, and quiet honestly, I’m more nervous than she is! Yes, Yes, I know she’s a smart kid, I know she’ll make friends and learn lots, and obviously have a wonderful time, I’m just not sure I will!

Despite my somewhat calm and confident persona now, as a child I suffered with separation anxiety and had a pretty tough time fitting in at Primary School. (The fact that I cried every morning for the first 6 months possibly didn’t help much! LOL) So now after 5 years of crying and tantrums at preschool drop off 3 days a week, I’m horrified that I’m going to have to put her through exactly the same thing I went through. So here’s my plan to survive Monday:

1. It’s totally OK to be nervous, anxious and generally upset about going to School, (or doing anything new for that matter) those feelings are normal and most kids will be feeling a little of the same thing, as well as most parents!
2. Letting go is hard but essential. I can only imagine the feeling of finally letting go of her hand and literally passing her over to a teacher for the first time. The last 5 years she’s been my baby, I’ve watched her grow, comforted her, fed her and been up helping her through numerous long nights. I think I’ve done a pretty good job and now I have to let a stranger into the picture to help her learn and take those big steps that I know come next. Change is hard, but letting go is the first step!

So, Wish me luck on Monday! No doubt I’ll be a blubbering mess at the gate with big dark glasses sniffing away my tears. But, back to rule number 1…. That’s OK too!