Valentine's Day with playgroup

Wednesdays are always so busy for us. We leave home about 11 am and get home around 7:30 pm: Library, AAA, McDonald's for lunch, dollar store for a Valentine's Day card for someone who needs one (all her old friends at playgroup signed it), playgroup, post office, Walmart (yes I'm ashamed every time I step foot in there), Staples, Wendy's for dinner, Thyme and Season for our milk, and E's soccer. Phew.

We all had a nice time at playgroup today. Yesterday we spent quite a bit of time working on boxes to receive valentines in. I often get bummed that the boys are not into crafts the way I am, but when I take something like this out for them to do, they really get into it. They especially love all my scrapbooking supplies. I have a shelf full of craft stuff that they know they can just pull things from any time they want, but the never do. I guess I need to pull the stuff out more often, since they always love it when we actually do it. You know, as unschoolers, I often just keep fun stuff around for them to find, but I'm realizing that sometimes they need to have it handed to them. Or more accurately, they need to be invited to join in doing it.

There were lots of kids at playgroup today. We made deposits into 20 boxes. And it seems like not many of the kids are into the yoga idea. We went late thinking they'd all be participating, and were surprised to walk into a room full of screaming kids and two or three kids with three moms in the corner doing yoga. The boys are really happy about that, and we will definitely be getting to playgroup on time from now on.

Lots of boys to play with. R is in heaven. I myself have been hanging back. Much as I am thrilled that R is in his glory, I don't do well with crowds. I never know where to plant myself, as people break into smaller groups. I guess the real problem is that I do want to plant myself, but everyone else seems to walk around mingling a little with everyone. My own preference is to have a few friends to talk with like in the old days when our group was smaller. Each person is very nice, it's just overwhelming to me to be with them all at once. It's always been a perpetual challenge for me. I'm getting beyond the need to change it and going back to accepting it again. In the past there have been people who left me feeling that I was somehow abnormal in this discomfort with more than four people at a time, and now I'm very happy to be back on the path of not caring whether it's normal or not, and accepting that it's just who I am. Of course that still leaves me sort of floundering at playgroup, but I'll have to relax and feel my way into it, I guess. The people really are all so nice, that it'll be a pleasure figuring it out among them.