Yesterday, I started my new job. I haven’t started a new job in more than six years, so I was a bit rusty on the logistics of being the new kid. Despite that, the day went off without a hitch. Mostly.

I picked out a totally acceptable, if slightly conservative outfit. Got to work on time. Breezed through new employee orientation. Negotiated the document servers successfully. Answered 50 some emails. Made graceful small talk at the weekly community lunch. Set up my voice mail. And left work in time to pick up the Sig before she was the last kid there.

After work, Sig and I put on play clothes and went outside to pick strawberries, tomatoes, and basil from our garden. Then we came in and ate the strawberries while I prepared what GTB called “the perfect dinner.” Then we all played and talked to both Oma and Grandma on the phone.

So far, I was navigating the life of a working mother perfectly. Sometime after bathtime though, it all went horribly wrong.

As GTB was drying off a very happy, but obviously very tired, toddler, I realized I had forgotten Blankie, a.k.a. Hong, at daycare. Daycare closes at 5:30. If we’re lucky, they are there answering the phone until 6:00. It was then 6:55. We were screwed.

Blankie is not just a covering that keeps Sig warm at night. She’s a feeling, animate member of Signe’s family. She has a personality, and emotions, and Signe protects her as much as she comforts Signe. When I told my daughter that we’d left Hong at daycare, I couldn’t tell if she was more upset at the idea of spending a night without Blankie or of Blankie being all alone at daycare.

We did get through the night, though bedtime took a lot longer than usual and there was one nocturnal panic when Sig couldn’t find Blankie. The reunion this morning was especially sweet. When we got to daycare, Signe laid on the floor with Blankie and said, “I’m going to play with you all day long.” When I left, Signe and Blankie went to the window together so they could both wave goodbye to me.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, August 16th, 2011 at 12:32 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.