Playgroup

It was an extraordinarily busy day for us today. First, we hosted playgroup at our house. What would I do without my playgroup? I've no idea. It's my mommy lifeline in the City. And The Boy learned what the word "friend" means from hanging out with playgroup children every Wednesday since he was 6-months-old.

We just celebrated our 3-year anniversary. We started out as a group of six moms and babies, added a seventh soon after, and took new members only when someone moved away. Of the original seven families, two moved to the suburbs and one moved to Maryland, but the remaining four (plus two new families) are still urban dwellers. Unlike most playgroups, we aren't neighborhood-based (I'm somewhat of an anomaly in my neighborhood of professional [lawyers, bankers, etc.] working parents), but are spread out all over the City. We rotate hosting duties, so it's nice to see other parts of and neighborhoods in the city on a regular basis.

Three other moms and six children came to play and have lunch at our house today. My original plan had been for the kids to enjoy our outdoor climbing unit/slide, paddling pool, and sand and water tables, but with the oppressive heat, I decided that we'd all be more comfortable (and less fractious) if we stayed in our well air-conditioned first floor rooms. The Boy, The Girl and their friends colored, played with trains, had lunch, ate cupcakes, and played with punch balloons. The Girl was quite interested in playgroup's newest member, a 4-week-old boy named S. When I held him, she kept whinging at my feet until I knelt down so that she could see the baby, too.