Why is it so hard to say bye bye to your child in the morning?

Recently my husband and I received an unwrapped gift. This gift travelled from the land of triple fermented beer, mouthwatering chocolates and those lovable smurfs. This amazing gift has come to us in the form of grandparents offering on-call babysitting service, anytime of the day and as long as we need them. Pretty cool. So why is it so hard to hand my little guy over to them? I know that they will be completely attentive and they will love him and they will play fun toddler games with him. My Euro in-laws actually moved across the Atlantic from Belgium to Nevada USA just a few houses down the street from us just so they can be closer to their only grandson and to carry on the European custom of grandparent duties. When I mention this to my friends I get the same wide-eyed gasping for breath reaction, “WOW, do you know how lucky you are.” And humbly I reply, Uh yeah, of course I do. 
For three days a week I fully embrace the opportunity to re-engage myself to the outside world where the sandbox is spilling over with bigger toys and louder tantrums disguised as requests. EEK! Maybe I should re-think this part-time working thing and remain on the other side of the door with Julien. Besides, he so much more fun and silly to be around than the bigger kids, a.k.a.working stiffs.
Perhaps this is why my throat tightens slightly when waving kisses goodbye to my little guy as I leave the driveway. I am probably feeling that emotional tug between independence and guilt. Ah yes, our little friend guilt…how you like to creep into our lives. I suppose we can regard guilt as an internal checks and balance watchdog making sure we stay in line or not stray to far from the rules of good parenting. I remember when I was a kid and my mom would discipline us, as best she could without us giggling at her, not sure why it was so funny now that I look back, but she would always say to us, “You know, this hurts me more than it hurts you.”And now I know what she meant.