By My Side neighborhood parenting group

What a busy few weeks it has been!!

Little did I know when I wrote the last entry that, within a few days, I would receive a phone call that threw our move into high gear.

We had been planning since earlier this year to re-locate. Although we loved the space we were in at Woolston, we knew they were planning to move and that the building was up for sale.

Thanks to Pastor Dan Roth and the board of Summerfield Church, we found a space with them that we could afford and planned to move sometime mid-late June.

The phone call I received a few weeks ago changed our time frame rapidly as we were told we needed to be out of Woolston by the end of May! I was panic-stricken!!

I despise moving and moreso when it comes on me quickly!

Thanks to all the hard work and cooperation of the families in the Parenting Program and my right hand partner, Jeannie Gnoza, we pulled off packing and moving in record time!! Over 10 of our families spent our last playgroup at Woolston sorting & organizing for the move. Not easy to do with little ones "helping out"!

We are grateful to the folks at Summerfield Church, especially Tracey Golden who is a former Parenting Program participant and secretary at the Church, for getting the space ready almost 3 weeks ahead of schedule!

The move took place on May 29th.

Thanks go to my husband, Mac, who jumped in at the last minute to be our driver for the truck we rented when the person who was supposed to do it didn't show. Many thanks also to Steve, one of our Dads, and the guys from the Brotherhood Mission who, along with Maggie & Kristen, our Moms, got us loaded up, transported, and unloaded in under 2 hours!!

Throughout this process, I am so grateful for all the support shown to me personally from our families from heartfelt regrets at not being able to do more to patience with me as I sent "HELP!" emails and playgroup schedules shifted to the phone calls and emails reassuring me that we could get this accomplished.

One call in particular from Julia really helped me stay grounded and focused. She shared with me how much it has meant for her and her daughter, Grace, to have found such a welcoming comunity at playgroup. How adjusting to being a "Stay-at-Home Mom" was difficult after being used to working and how talking with the other folks at playgroup helped ease her tensions about what was "normal" and what to expect.

It made packing those last few containers more meaningful.

We had to cancel only 3 playgroups to get this done.

It was wonderful to be able to welcome our crew back to playgroup yesterday! I was a little nervous about how everyone would feel about the new space and how the change would affect the children.

I am happy to report that, outside of a few confused looks from the kids, we were back to our routine quickly.

I was standing outside waiting to make sure everyone knew they had the right place when Juliette and Caspar pulled up. Caspar was all smiles and Juliette shared that he got so excited when she told him they were coming to playgroup or "P-Pup" as he calls it. "P-Pup" was born from singing the "Clean-Up" song. When I took them down to the playgroup room, he just stood there staring for a few minutes trying to figure out the deal...same faces, same toys but somehow different. Ruby had a similar reaction as did a couple more of the little ones but, by the time we got into Circle and started singing our songs, especially "Monkeys jumping on the bed", we all felt better.The space was different but we weren't! It was so obvious that the security of the routine of playgroup, like routine in other ways within families, truly helps very young children adjust to change!

By the time we were working with Play Dough, life was back to where it should be in playgroup world. For the 10 families that were there yesterday, the adjustment has begun.

We anxiously await introducing the rest to our new space!

It just goes to show that our playgroups are not so much about the space we are in but that we are in it together!!

A great feeling to have in this sometimes crazy, mixed up world!