First, the sad ones:  when I dropped Miles off this morning at Jessa’s, he was weepy.  I figured it would only last a few minutes and then he’d start having fun, which was the case when he went to Sue’s last night for a couple of hours while DC and I went to dinner.  No such luck.  I called Jessa around 9 to check in, and she said he was having a sad day.  She’s doing her best to keep him cheerful, but I think it’s finally sinking in that when he goes there, Mommy and Daddy leave.

I went over and whimpered to Denny about it.  He was appropriately sympathetic but also reminded me that we can’t shield him from everything forever, and that it’s a normal stage in his development to have separation anxiety.

Whenever I am feeling unsure about a parenting decision, I ask myself, “What would a cavewoman do?”  I don’t think millions of years of evolution would really steer me wrong, even when so-called experts say otherwise.  For example, when faced with the decision of letting him cry alone in his crib versus picking him up and comforting him and letting him sleep with us, I think about cavewomen.  A cavewoman would not leave her baby to cry, because that would attract wolves.  A cavewoman would sleep in the same den as her baby, because it’s warmer and safer.  A cavewoman would nurse her baby when he needed it, because it’s nutritious and immediately available.  This is how the species has gotten as far as it has.

A cavewoman would probably not go work in a cubicle.  However, once her cavebaby is a year old, a cavewoman might very well go off and gather berries or whatever in the mornings, because she would have a community of other cavepeople who can care for her baby.  Jessa is my co-cavewoman.  It doesn’t hit me in the gut as wrong to leave Miles with her, even though I’m sad that it’s kind of a difficult transition.

I think a cavewoman would go pick him up and bring him some especially good berries.

Now for the good emotions:  I think you know what I’m talking about.  We get to stop saying “President-Elect Obama” and start saying “President Awesome Obama.” I am a little nervous that we as a nation are setting ourselves up for disappointment.  We can’t expect one individual to solve all our problems and bring us juicy berries and cater to all our whims.  But it’s certainly a step in the right direction, and I’m really excited for the future.