Separation Anxiety

My mom has always told me that when I was a little girl, I struggled big time with separation anxiety. My anxiety was so high in kindergarten that I would present to the nurse's office weekly with a new complaint in hopes of going home. Fast forward 25 years and it is no surprise that I have separation anxiety when leaving my little boy when I go to work.

Transitions have always been, and will always be, hard for me. This week is a big transitional week. We are changing caregivers for Jake and my stress is on high alert. We adore our current caregiver and are so sad to see her go (despite the fact that we know it is for bigger and better things in terms of school!). Jake lights up when he sees her and his giggle is pervasive when she is around. I can only hope that our next caregiver will be as great of a fit for our family.

Getting to work today was a struggle of emotions. I felt guilty for leaving Jake, sad that we will be saying goodbye, and resentful that I could not stay home. We are in transition mode at work as well and the start of the academic year is always very busy. We say goodbye to our current training class and start orientation next week to a new group of anxious interns. I can't help but realize that I will be emphathizing with them. After all, transitions are hard for everyone, right?!