An apology to my daughter...

Dear Casey,
I know I made the idea of starting school very exciting! "You're going to learn so many things" I said... "Caitlyn is going to be there!"... "Look at this adorable bookbag I got you!". I'm sure the last thing you thought was that your mother would drop you off with a bunch of strangers and walk out the door for 8 hours.
I'm sure you thought "well, if I just yell loud enough, she'll come back and get me". The blood curling scream was a nice touch.
Princess, the truth is that school is not very much fun. Not until your senior year of High School when you take useless classes like "ceramics" and "photography" and skip first period to go have breakfast in a car with no A/C and clearly exceeding the limit of occupancy. But school is necessary. It's necessary because I need to practice my beautician skills on your curly mop every morning... because I need a good excuse to spend $40 on hair bows... and because my boss won't pay me to stay home OR let you come to work with me. Apparently, children in a place of business are distracting.
I know with time you will learn to tolerate this archaic ritual of learning... and you will learn to like your friends and your teacher and the parking lot of the daycare (which now only makes you cry when we drive through because you know where you're headed).
Just know that mommy leaves a piece of her heart with you every single day. And when I tell you "I will be right back"... I mean it!
And now for some gratitude notes: Thank you to Alex Hernandez, for the picture above and for checking on my girl when you pick up Caitlyn. Hope Casey asking every afternoon "where's mommy" isn't too heart wrenching for you.
To the Walt Disney company, for designing the softest and most loyal Minnie Mouse stuffed animal to accompany my princess to school each day... and for making her so durable that she withstands the spins in the washing machine to get the krusty spots out.
To my mom for having watched, loved and cared for my daughter until the ripe old age of 26 months.
And to my fellow mommies out there for their love and support.