September 1, 2000 - Friday
Today is Harry's last regular day in the lab. After the Monday holiday, his mother will need to return to her former schedule of full days in her office and he will begin daycare full-time. We'll all still be commuting together, since Harry's daycare and our workplaces are all fairly close together, but the car isn't always the best place for bonding. Harry usually either asleep or annoyed that he's bound up in his car seat.

While it's, of course, quite normal for young children - children much younger than Harry - to be in daycare for long days, it doesn't mean I have to like it. I'm not worried about the care he'll receive. Indeed, I often think that he'll receive better daily care from a professional than he received from me during all our mornings together. In cases of emergencies, someone with more experience with babies will probably be more able to react quickly and confidently than I might. But, Harry is my son and will be his whole life and the idea that someone else would essentially raise him for the first couple years of his life is counterintuitive. I like watching him grow up - though at times it's admittedly tedious and diverting from more gainful goals - and I regret not being able to continue to spend the time with him. Naturally, Harry's mother and I have been very fortunate, given our flexible schedules, to be able to spend as much time with him as we have. Most mothers get a couple of months after childbirth to stay with a baby before returning to work and most fathers just a couple of weeks. Nonetheless, I still hope to spend more than just "quality time" in the evening.


Comments, opinions?