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Mommy! (Jeanne)

This one isn't a "real" memory, but a story my mom told me (Jeanne) several times when I was little. The entire family took a trip to Florida when I was about two years old. They left me with my Aunt Margaret Pahl (technically, my mom's first cousin's wife). According to my memory of the story, I was just fine during the vacation while my family was gone. When they got back, however, my full-on abandonment fears kicked in. My mom told me that I clung to her and screamed "bloody murder" if she left the room. She told me she couldn't even go to the bathroom without setting me off! This apparently lasted a few weeks after their return from the trip.

I don't remember that, but I remember how Nick used to cry when I dropped him off for daycare at Sally Schultz's house. He was fine once I was gone. Alex comforted him and distracted him. But I was a wreck, peeling my son off my leg and closing the door to go to work.

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