Last Thursday we did something simple but grand! It made me so very very very happy! We hung our with old friends in a "new to us" space at a familiar place - totally kaleidoscopey!
Jonah, Vera and I met up with some of our fantastic play group buddies. We haven't seen then in forever. Many of us in our little playgroup crew have had a bit of a challenging 2012 (that may be an understatement...) so when I saw the email that there was a possibility of seeing some of the "crew" on Thursday morning I was very excited. The other thing is that all of our kids are bigger and we all have two of them now. Some of our kids are in big kid school and some in preschool - all on various days and times and different locations. The siblings are close in age but different ages with different nap schedules. The moms have all different schedules... some of us are back at work part time, some of us are taking classes, all of us still taking care of kids, homes, and families - so much has changed - so much has stayed the same.
One of the moms is a mom I met just weeks (I think - I am not sure when exactly) after Jonah was born. We met at a mommy & me class that I have mentioned before (PACE) - it was a great group. The moms in our playgroup are all connected somehow by a PACE group. Turns out this friend had a big baby... I had a small baby. When I say big and small - I mean born at almost 10 pounds and born at just 4 pounds. So you can imagine how funny these babies looked laying on blankets near each other on the floor at the DCJCC with their postpartum moms... me particularly unprepared for motherhood and the very small, nonstop crying baby that had to be held twenty four hours a day and did not sleep... When I conjure up this picture in my mind, I seriously laugh out loud by the ridiculousness of it... and the "I wish I would have known then what I know now" wisdom that is in my heart - it all turns out ok!
Back to the Thursday playdate!
We met at the airport. National Airport (DCA). We were supposed to get there at 10:30... we were late. We had never been to the airport for a playdate - what a GREAT IDEA! We started off by the visitor center and took these pictures - Jonah and Vera loved just watching the planes at the big windows. After texting my buddies, I followed their lead. Next stop was Dunkin Donuts - we walked down there and got some treats and then headed down to terminal A. The walk was fun because we walked on the "people movers" - the kids loved that! When we arrived at Terminal A, there is this big semi enclosed open space in front of the big windows! BINGO! Most fun play space ever!
Our buddies were there having their Dunkin Donuts treats so we joined in happily!
Then Jonah busted out his toys. You see, Jonah and Vera insisted on bringing all of our toy planes and helicopters with us when they found out we were going to the airport. This actually turned out pretty well, as we had so many that everyone got to play with them - and Jonah & Vera did pretty good with the sharing - not perfect but pretty good.
But my big moment was even simpler. It was watching Jonah and his buddy playing, laughing and talking like little people. It was crazy. Like I said, I can totally picture them wiggling on blankets - and here they were - little people. And having so much fun! And you know what? They were the same size?!?!?!?! How crazy is that?!?!? And then there was Vera and Jonah's buddy's little brother - similar in age - also running around playing. Good stuff I tell you - really good stuff!
It was a super fun playdate.
It was awesome to be able to have some typical "playdate"esque conversations - the kind you start and stop while watching multiple kids in a public place
We hung out a bit later than our buddies and had lunch at the airport. Kids fell asleep in the car ride home.
Thank you playgroup buddies for being a total blessing for us over these past almost four - you are a serious part of that village I am always talking about - and we love you all! An we love playdates at the airport.
