Having been able to subsist through the good graces of relatives and friends for our baby sitting needs for the past three and a half years has been a blessing indeed. Now, today, for the first time ever we left our 3 1/2 year old daughter with complete strangers (who work at a bonafide, certified child care facility). It was might unnerving I must admit. We, of course, went and checked it out ahead of time, and asked all the pertinent questions and saw all the qualifying certificates, but even still there was a little first timer's fear in the back of my mind as I knew that my daughter was being 'taken care of' by complete strangers at a new place to her and us. It was her that I was concerned about the most---her impression and experience of the place and people. It's a good thing that my daughter is such a sociable kid, and shyness is not a word that comes to mind when I think of her. In fact, I think , at least at this stage that she's a kind of communal kid. She'd love nothing better than to live with a whole gaggle of children, and if that wish were granted she'd probably tell her mom and I that we could come visit a couple times a month or something like that. Even at three and a half she displays a serious dose of individuality and independence. Her mom and I are not planning on having any more kids, so her army of compadres will have to come from the outside world. So, maybe this whole 'occasional daycare need' will turn out to be good for her well-roundedness. I sure hope so. Kids need to be together. We'll have to see how she feels about it later in the week.