Five boys happily, yet crazily run around my house. Around and around. Tromping upstairs. Turn around! Back downstairs. Hurry!
They disappear into the back yard. They’re all clad in turtle shells and capes holding Nerf guns, weapons and anything else they can use for strict super hero communication purposes.
I love their noises. Their screams. Their group giggles. The pure chaos. They don’t care about anything except joyfully running around, pretending to save the world or take me down.
I am occasionally “the Robot Mother,” and I temporarily speak robot and try to capture little boys. Until I get too tired or my battery runs low. I fail miserably. They’re just too fast and they have teamed up nicely. There are too many of them.They’re far too sneaky. And I’m only one mother. I need to find my coffee. “Must. Find. Coffee.” (spoken in Robot voice)
At the beginning of the school year, my son and I were invited into a revolving house weekly playgroup. Every week, on Thursdays from 9:30-11:30 a.m., the five boys, ages four and five, play at a different house. All five houses are within a few miles of each other. It’s pure awesomeness. They all play extremely well together. Unbelievably well. Harmoniously.
Sounds too good to be true, right? It’s a really good thing. For the kids. And especially for the mamas. When it’s not your turn to host, it’s blissful. Two hours of pure uninterrupted mama time can totally resuscitate an exhausted mother’s soul. I’ve used my time to ride bikes on the trails with another mama. I’ve taken a shower. A looooooong shower. I’ve had a breakfast date with my husband. I’ve sat around my house and done a lot of nothing. Because I can. For two whole hours. I’ve caught up on laundry. Or tried to. Among many other things.
We, the mothers, met last year when our older kids were in kindergarten. After several after school park play dates, we noticed how well our younger boys got along. There are stay-at-home moms and working moms in our revolving house playgroup. We usually provide a snack, but all agreed that we would not judge how healthy or unhealthy said snack would be. If you need to switch dates with another mom, everybody has always been flexible. It has been an equally awesome experience for the kids and the mamas.
Revolving house playgroup. Grab some mamas, kids, a location and give it a try! You may find that it provides just the boost you need to make it through the rest of the week!
