Missing a Milestone

I'm a working mom of two.  Judge me if you must, but it's what works for me and our family.  I am a child of two working parents, and I think I'm debatable normal. :)  My son flourishes at daycare and preschool.  He's a social chatterbox that could make friends with a flagpole.  He's active, independent and (I think) intelligent.  I do attribute some of that to our parenting.  We are very "present" with our kids, and we're all together ALL THE TIME!  But, some of his great qualities are, I think, attributed to his status as a "daycare kid". 

I am very comfortable in my decision, most days, but there are always some days here and there that tug at my heartstrings.  Yesterday was one of those days.  I missed a milestone.  I know there will be many of them with B.  There have already been some with T, and I got over it, eventually.  But it's hard, nonetheless, to be the second person to witness some of the firsts in their lives.  I have already thought ahead to the fact that I will NEVER be able to see my children off on the bus on the first day of school ::snif::.  I am a high school teacher, and our day starts at 7:25am, no exceptions.  I can't call my boss and tell her I'll "be in late", because I have 31 (yes, I seriously have 31 kids...ridiculous...but that's a discussion for another day) freshmen and sophomores sitting in my class waiting eagerly to learn biology.  It's a hard pill to swallow that I will NEVER be a part of that first.  Being a working mommy is very hard at times.  Mother's guilt is a very strong emotion to overcome.  I struggle with it daily, especially on days like yesterday.  So now onto the milestone.  I got this picture text from my MIL near the end of my day yesterday, with the caption "guess who's sitting?".  ::sigh:: ::tear::

Don't worry...I made sure to have her practice her new skill for me right when I picked her up for the day, then again for a photo-op, and again when Daddy got home :)  Practice makes perfect!  I might be slightly biased...but can you get a cuter little girl?!  :) 

And on a completely unrelated note, thank God Mississippi voters rejected their ridiculous anti-abortion initiative 26 (read about it here). Let me be clear, I am, by no means, pro-abortion.  I would never choose to get one myself.  However, I am, most definitely pro-choice and against the government telling women what we can and can't do with our bodies, our birth control and our fertility.  I get pretty irked when people automatically think I'm pro-abortion just because I'm pro-choice.  I was completely against this initiative 26 not just because of the abortion issue, but mostly in support of those couples in Mississippi that have infertility issues and have or will undergo IVF.  This initiative would prevent further embryos from being created and frozen, and women would have to use or put their current embryos up for adoption.  IVF would, as a result, be "illegal" in Mississippi after a certain date.  ::gasp::  As a suffer of infertility, I will always vote for the women's right to choose and be in control of her fertility.  The initiative would also ban the usage of some forms of birth control.  Ummmm...not cool!  Okay, enough politics! :)