Tuesday Playgroup

On Tuesday mornings, I load the kids up and head over to my friend Heather's house for playgroup. It's a 25 minute drive each way, not always enjoyable for Riley who is already working his way towards his morning nap, but so worth it once we get there. Fresh coffee, good food, fascinating conversation (about potty-training and deals on creamer and apples), and somebody else's toys to play with (for the kids, that is).  I put Riley down for a snuggle with the giant Elmo they have in their crib, and then I get to sit down and eat food that has just been served and drink coffee while it is still hot!!

Annie with her friend Kaylyn

The magic doesn't last long. Pretty soon somebody hit somebody and somebody else wet their pants (I won't say who, but I have a whole load of wet undies to wash this morning) and there's parenting to do. But even then, there is the relief of being with others who are in the same boat - you know, the one where you feel like all you do all day is bail water. There are no critical glances, no thinly veiled admonishens, nobody telling me that I dressed my kids wrong for the weather that day. None of us have won the "Mother of the Year Award" yet. (It is out there, right?)

But we get together every week and spur one another on towards love and good deals - I mean deeds. Somebody's passing comment or example becomes our motivation for the week. And there's always a panel of experts to answer pressing questions like "Is it too soon to give a one-year-old a dum-dum in order to get through a Walmart trip?" or "What would you do if, say - purely hypothetically, of course, your child got a bean stuck in her nose this morning and it still hasn't come out?"

I am so thankful for this weekly outing and for the friends who make it what it is. And that the kids are exhausted from playing by the time we get home and take good long naps!