This fickle spring weather is driving me bananas! Warm, sunny days followed by two weeks of mucky rainy cold stuff. Ugh and ugh! What we need more than anything is a reliable stretch of pleasant weather, so when energy starts heading south* I can say, "everyone OUTSIDE!" and it doesn't take the rigmarole of boots/hats/jackets before we make it to freedom. Goodness knows that boots/hats/jackets is the stuff of a meltdown or two, not a cure.
So, enter Wednesday, where the forecast from one source said "cold and rainy" and another said "not so cold, possibly not rainy." Who to believe? I let the children be my barometer, and at the first hint of crankiness I sent a message to our playgroup friends: Freedom Playground, 10 a.m.
Peter false starts the slide race. Not his first time, either.
We had a great playground day out of it, with lots of tire-swing-swinging and sand-box-digging and slide-racing and hide-and-seeking. Aside from a little whimpering at the end ("I wanted to ride the tire swing but there were too many children!"), it was a tear-free low-management kind of day.
I'll confess to this, too: while driving home, my energy bottomed out and I knew I needed reinforcement. I stopped at Wawa** and ventured in alone. Peter was half-naked (he'd had an accident), Lucy was bundled up in some hand-me-down pajamas, and Thomas was asleep. Then, I gave them cookies. Classy, right?
*You know, when #1 and #2 are hitting one another on their heads with pots from their play kitchens and the baby screams every time you set him down. Not that this happened today or anything. Just a for instance.
**Possibly the third store the children know by name, although it's often called "the goose store" and "the coffee shop." Wawa ranks high on my list of Best Reasons to Move to Philadelphia.
Comments