Dealing with separation anxiety

I have left Mateo at home before while I do errands with my mom or Pat or meet a friend. It has been just fine because it was during nap time or bed time (he goes to bed at 6 p.m.). I miss him so much the minute I walk out the door but I am also happy to be "free" for sometime and find myself again. I always came back home happy to know that my baby is in good care and happy. Today it was different, I came back to a very unhappy baby.  My mom and I went to a Sweet Sixteen party at 4 p.m., and Pat agreed to stay home with Mateo. It was going to be his first solo time with him, he assured me that he would do anything to keep him happy. So just before leaving for the party Mateo started to cry, like he knew that something was going on. I calmed down and I was good to go. I left the house with peace of mind and trusting that he will be just fine, a happy baby like always. After one hour in the party, Pat calls me to tell me that Mateo is doing great and he is sound sleep. Half and hour later, Pat calls again and tells me that after trying everything, Mateo can not stop crying and I need to come back home right away. Twenty minutes later, I see my baby's cheeks full of tears, I hold him, I nurse him and complete STOP! He is happy again. He is with mom. He did not really nurse for the first 5 minutes, he just needed to know that I was there, holding him, loving him. I felt bad for leaving him and I can not imagine the 30 minutes he cried very hard. Poor Pat, he had to deal with that and I can just imagine. I needed to write this to let it out. Mateo is sound sleep in his crib now and probably all this day is over in his mind but for me it is taking a little while to let it go. Nothing is more important than my baby now and I would do anything for not let him cry so much. He needs his mom now and I will be there. I will still leave him when he is sleeping or when he is older.

Sound sleep after a hard day.