Reminds me of a story a friend told me last night (after I related the kid on the bus story) where she too, zoomed right off to her first day of kindergarten, and her mom said later:

"All these other kids are screaming and you just went zipping over to the door AND YOU DIDN'T EVEN LOOK BACK! There I am standing, with tears running down my face, and while I was proud that you were so independent, I wished you'd looked back just once!"

She (my friend) said, "I wonder if all my problems with my Mom can be traced back to that single point."