Wednesday, Sept. 1, it was finally time. Alexandra was going to Spielgruppe (playgroup/preschool) for the first time. I had tried Noah at age 3, and it was a complete disaster. He cried constantly, dreaded it all week, and finally I put him out of his misery in November. But Alexandra is so lonely in the mornings when the big kids go off to school, I thought I would try it again with her.
She was super excited about choosing which one of her many purses she would use as her official “Znünitasche”. (snackbag) We had also bought a new pair of “Finken” or slippers a few weeks beforehand; purple with mermaids on them! Here she is patiently waiting for Papa to take a picture so we can get going! 
She said to me in the car on the way there, “You stay with me ’til me say “go”, okay?” “I promise, Alexandra.” 🙂 The excitement was gone the second we walked through the front door. She clung to me like nylons to a static-filled skirt. I seriously had to pry her off me, just to sit down on the bench. Her teacher was very kind, and greeted her by name and with a big smile, as soon as we walked in. but Alexandra was having none of it. We sat on the fringes of singing time, with Alexandra keeping her head buried in my lap the whole time. All the other kids (all boys!) were Spielgruppe old-timers, and had no problem being abandoned by their mothers. ha!
Rosario tried a different tact, and called all the kids over to the craft table to play with playdough. Oh, Alexandra might be interested in that. She loves the stuff, so I purposely DON’T have any at home, so she will have something to look forward to at nursery in church, and now at spielgruppe. I am so devious, I know. 
I sat next to her, of course, but at least she was on her own chair, actually making eye contact with the kids. We’re making progress! After a few more minutes, I was able to leave her side, and go sit at the snack table.
But she still wasn’t loving Spielgruppe, you know? So her teacher pulled out the big guns. “Hey, wasn’t it Alexandra’s birthday on Monday? Should we celebrate her birthday today?” Perfect! She pulled out the special green playdough and made a caterpillar “cake” that Alexandra got to help decorate. 
She completely forgot I was even there. Hurray!
They moved the party over to the snack table, where everyone sang “Happy birthday” in German and English to her, and Alexandra got to blow out even more birthday candles. 
Then all the kids pulled out their snacks and had a feast. I asked her if it was okay for me to leave now, and she gave her assent. 
She gave me a kiss, and I was out the door. Oh, and of course, Rosario spoke only German the whole time, and Alexandra understood everything she said to her. I had been worried about that, but there was no hesitation, or even watching to see what the other kids did first. I guess that is why it took her so long to speak, she was busy learning and processing two different languages.
When I got home I called Chris to give him a status report, knowing he was worried about how things would go for her. He told me to “use my time alone wisely”. heehee Oh, I did, honey, I did! Let’s see, first I turned on the Glee soundtrack with the volume nice and loud. Then I proceeded to dance and sing “Risky Business” style all over the living room. It was celebration time! The days of being chained to my small children was ending, and a new era of freedom and fun with big kids was beginning. Oh yes, and I also folded the laundry. See, I can be responsible, too.