The main meetup organizer moved house recently and asked if I could cover her Let’s Get Moving meetup this last Monday. This is a great idea, where moms get together at the park and plan to help each other mind the children and get in about 45 minutes of exercise. I had never gone, because Monday mornings Chad’s at home and we spend it together.
Another mom had requested afternoon meetups, so I thought I’d try a Monday afternoon yoga workout. I’d throw on the iPod on the portable speaker we got for Christmas (Thanks Noi naa!) and turn on Bikram Choudhary.
A great idea, I thought, but NOBODY SHOWED.
Then Tuesday, I went on my wilderness walk as per usual and NOBODY SHOWED. It’s like a bad case of b.o., people are just staying away from me.
Wednesday I stayed home just to stay home.
And then today I hosted the best meetup I’ve hosted so far.
It was a Crochet-Your-Own Wool-Soaker Playdate, because a mom from my diaper-free group had offered to show us how after we had all exclaimed over her adorable hand-crocheted wool pants on her new baby Danny. Wool soakers are like diaper covers; wool works well because it is very absorbent and resistant to picking up smells. They also cost an arm and a leg for a single pair.
This was a joint playdate with my diaper-free group and the attachment parenting meetup group.
Because there had been a 30% chance of rain, I’d invited everybody to my house instead of the park. We scrubbed the toilets and I made chai with soy milk and started a fresh loaf of bread in the machine.
Of course this morning there was glorious sun.
But no matter! Every mom got busily engrossed in a (new) crochet project almost from the moment she walked in the door. A couple of us got a good start on a soaker, and others started on pants or a woolen turtle.
And the children played beautifully and quietly. That was interesting to note, because I’d JUST purged the shelves of all plastic toys. I was a bit nervous about the older toddlers having enough to do with the silks, dolls, wood blocks, and doll house toys – that was all I had out. But it turned out to be plenty. Hurray! It makes me even more excited to start the Waldorf playgroup, because the kids seemed to really enjoy calm imaginative play while their mamas worked.
For all the great project day ideas we’ve had, I would say more than half end up being not so productive, because the well-intentioned moms get sidetracked by children and conversations. Today the mamas were focused and calm and (not surprisingly) the children followed suit. In my small living room and dining room there were 8 adults and 8 toddlers and babies, yet we got a lot accomplished with ease.
Today was worth two meetups of no shows.
(And no worries, I enjoyed the time alone with the baby anyway – especially the wilderness walk. Christian and I got in about 6 miles and I discovered a loop trail to an old robber’s cave that I’ll do again.)
