4:35 p.m. - formerly known as the best time of day

Some days it was earlier, rarely it was later. But since August, on any given weekday, 4:35 p.m. was my favourite time of the day.

Hannah's daycare is approximately a 7 minute walk from my office. Save pedestrian traffic, GO and TTC buses, most days that landed me in the toddler room at 4:35 p.m. That magical part of the day where I finally got to see my daughter after missing her for 8 hours straight.

At first, she felt it too.

She would yell, "Mommy!" from across the playground in the summer/fall, across the room after Thanksgiving. She would run to me and give me a big bear hug. In fact, if I fumbled with things in her cubby for too long she thought I was leaving her there and would start to cry.

And then in late January she turned 2. I brought in ice cream to celebrate. If I had only known I was celebrating her daycare independence, I might have not been so joyous of the occasion.

Here's how things go now. During drop off I can barely take her outdoor clothes off fast enough. One of her best friends, C, gets dropped off before her. She can't start playing with C soon enough. Sometimes I get a kiss, occasionally a hug, usually just a wave (and only because the teacher tells her). At first, the teachers were very pleased and supportive of how easily Hannah now transitioned when I was ready to leave (it was obviously much better than her crying, for all involved). But maybe they were too supportive.

Because now at 4:35 p.m. when I walk in the room, OTHER children yell, "Hannah!" and look happy to see me. My own kid? Sometimes she laughs, sometimes I get a glance, but ALWAYS she runs to the opposite side of the room and continues to play. Eventually another kid will take interest in me, showing me a toy, a book or their new shoes, and she'll notice and get a little jealous and come over to claim me - "MY MOMMY!"

But the only way I get her boots on is with the promise of seeing Booyah, our cat. "Booyah's house?" she'll ask hopefully and I confirm that yes, she will get to see Booyah soon.

Don't get me wrong, I'm happy and relieved Hannah likes her daycare so much. This past weekend when she woke up from her nap she even asked me, "Daycare?" and got upset when I explained that it was the weekend and her friends and teachers weren't there.

As for my new favourite time of the day? It's around 5:15 p.m. Usually by then I am driving east on Steeles, reaching the bumps in the road just before Leslie. I yell, "Whee!" as the car bounces over them, making our stomachs drop. Hannah giggles. I hope they never fix that road...or I'll need a new new favourite time of the day.

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