And so it begins...

Drew went to pick up Rachel from daycare on Tuesday night. He reported that she gave him a big smile...and kept right on playing.

"This is how it starts," he told Shannon, one of the daycare ladies. "In a couple of years, she'll take me for granted."

Yesterday when I picked her up, she was crying. Turns out a toddler crashed into her and Rachel bit her cheek. Shannon was wiping blood from her mouth and gave me an icy teething ring to put in Rachel's mouth.

Instead, I took her to the infants section, sat down in a glider and held her close. "Shh, it's ok," I kept murmuring. "Mommy's here. Mommy's here." She calmed down after a while and even smiled before we left.

Today, Shannon said, she had a great day. Shannon spent most of the time with Rachel because when Rachel was on the playmat and saw Shannon, she gave her an expectant look and an explanation of happiness, and Shannon was so charmed that she swept her up in her arms.

Tomorrow is my 2nd furlough day, and I plan to spend it using as little money as possible because it is, after all, an unpaid day off work. We may join a mom's group at the Eastbank Esplanade if we're up and moving early enough; if not, we'll spend a relaxed day at the park reading, playing and swinging.

Furlough days stink, but I love summer. That makes up for it, sort of.