NEW COO! NEW COO!

Well, Day 1 at The Geej's New Coo went pretty darn well. (I'm probably cursing it by saying that, but oh well...).

She was excited about going there this morning. The whole way there, we talked about it, and it ended with she and I chanting "New School! New School! New School!" like a couple of freaks. Her class is mainly boys, although there is one set of twin girls--Abby and Audrey--and a seemingly much older girl named Erin. She was in "observational" mode when we got there, just scoping everything out, but staying damn close to mommy. She explored a lot of the toys and puzzles, and even went up and gave one of the boys who was upset because his mom had left a "gentle touch" and told him it was okay. "Circle time" was sort of a disaster, as it was everyone's first day. But when the teachers asked if they wanted to go outside, they were all over it--including The Geej. I'd lingered longer than any other parent, so I took the opportunity of them moving outdoors to "transition her" and say my good-byes. It was rough. She was sad, and there were big tears. But I wasn't as upset as I'd expected to be because I'd seen how lovingly the teachers (there are 3 of them in her class--and one of them is a guy) had handled all of the previous meltdowns that each child had when his/her parent(s) left.

And get this: Before I even had a chance to call them to check on her, they called ME to tell me she was doing okay. Then I got 2 e-mail updates on how she was doing throughout the day. I TOLD you this place rocked.

When I went to pick her up, she was in incredibly good spirits--sitting outside in the shady grass, petting the very mellow school cat. Her good mood continued through the rest of the afternoon/evening, and she went to bed with no problem.

God, I hope this isn't a fluke. I hope this transition is going to continue to go smoothly. I'm keeping my fingers crossed and praying to the God of Toddlers for help.