Mamma I didnt cry

"Mamma I didnt cry when u left me", said my little one as we hugged each other like we had been parted for days. This was last Monday noon when I went to pick my toddler from occasional care at the nearby school, which runs from 12.30 to 3.00 pm every Monday.
The first few times I left her, she didnt seem to mind at all and continued playing till I went back to pick her. After a health problem I had, which required me to stay overnight at the hospital, this changed. She wouldnt stay back even with her grandmum now and the Monday noon school would see her holding on to me and crying for dear life if I tried to leave her there. After a few Mondays of staying on and playing with her and the other kids, I decided to take the bull by its horns and left her there, while her teacher held her back. I lingered on unseen and she stopped crying in 10 seconds and I left at that point. Two weeks of this and then came school vacations and there was a break for two weeks.
When we went back last Monday, I thought she would bawl as usual. She clung to me kept telling me not to leave her and so I stayed on for 10 minutes. When I got up to leave she pouted and tears sprang into her eyes.....and she said, summoning all her will and courage, "Bye bye mamma", her effort made me proud and made my eyes moist. After a hug and a kiss and a promise to return soon, I left.
Later when I went back to pick her, her eyes lit up like stars like they always do at such a time and after all our hugging, she said to me with great pride, the sentence I started my blog with,"mamma I didnt cry when u left me here " .
I spoke to her teacher and after a few minutes, she smiled at me and said, "mamma I am sooooooo happy u came back to pick me". She kept repeating this for a while till I picked her up and told her, that when I left her someplace I would ALWAYS come back to pick her .
My little one will be all of three, in exactly 2 days from now. For the first time she is able to understand and enjoy all the preparations for her Birthday, though she is a bit mixed up with regards to the facts and figures which causes much mirth.
Dont grow up too fast my baby, enjoy your childhood and may life unfold her wonders and joys to you slowly and gently.