5 years 9 months 19 days

Day 2118. Yesterday morning there was no sleeping in. Randy left with Tammy and Sammy just before 8:30 to take them to their kindergartens, while Emmy stayed home with me. Just after 8:30 am my alarm went off, and I got up and got ready to leave. Just before 9 am Emmy and I left the house together.

We walked to the subway and rode it downtown. But before we  got there, a man collapsed right next to us on the train while we were stopped at a station. He had fainted. The people around him helped him up, and somebody pushed the emergency button. The driver then called an ambulance, and the man was walked off the train to the platform to wait for it to arrive. Emmy was a little shocked to have witnessed all that, but he was okay. A few minutes later, the driver continued on his way.

Once downtown we walked the rest of the way to the dentist where we arrived right on time at 9:30 am. I think it's great that Emmy is excited about going to the dentist. We registered and sat down, and moments later we were already called in. I had an appointment to get everything ready for me to receive the bridge I need, while Emmy had a check-up appointment. His teeth were alright, but she applied something to give the teeth some needed minerals. That was it for him. He then sat down with his tablet, while it was my turn.

And my turn lasted for 90 minutes - a lot of time to have your mouth open and your teeth worked upon. It was a different doctor, one I had not met yet, a woman with a German accent. I was somewhat bothered because she used the informal way to address me which was highly unusual and inappropriate. She took the fillings of two teeth out that were right next to where I don't have a tooth, as the bridge is going to sit on those two teeth. Then she inlaid the teeth with some sort of plastic and drilled a ledge around the teeth that the bridge will sit on. I was told I'd have to come back for the bridge to be put in, and it's going to be on the day before we leave for America.

I was really glad when we were finally done at 11:15 am. I paid, and Emmy took quite a lot of the chocolate lying there for the patients to take. Then we left and walked back to the subway and rode it home.

By 11:45 we were back home, and ten minutes later I started teaching my student who was thankfully flexible with our starting time. I taught until 12:45; Sammy was already back home at that time. I warmed up some leftovers for Emmy and me, and we ate. Daddy had already eaten his part, and he left just before 1 pm to go pick up Tammy from kindergarten. 

At 2:30 pm I started teaching; Randy and Tammy were only just arriving at that time. I then taught until 6:30 pm. Randy and Sammy left just before 4:30 to go to Sammy's wheelchair class.

Once I was done teaching, I went to the kitchen to cut up their fruit. I had already given them their sandwiches during a break between lessons. And I only had until 6:40 pm as a student had asked for another lesson because of an exam the next day. I was able to get their food ready in time and then taught a shortened lesson until 7:20 pm. By then Randy and Sammy were back as well. I went downstairs with Tammy for piano practice (I had done piano practice with Emmy earlier in the day), then they went into the bathtub. After that, there was just enough time for me to pray for them, then I sat down at the computer to teach from 8:10 to 9 pm. It sure had been a long day of teaching. 
This morning Randy took the kids to kindergarten, while I went back to sleep. My alarm woke me at 9:30 am, and I got up to get ready for my 10 am student - and put a lasagna into the oven. I taught until 11, then started again at 11:15 and taught until 12:30 pm. Randy left just before I was done to pick up Tammy and Emmy and take them to their tennis class. After I was done and had wrapped it all up, I left and took the subway to Sammy's kindergarten to pick him up. He was very happy to see me. As usual, he wanted to say hello to the cleaning leady before leaving, and that's what we did. She loves him just as much as he loves her.

We took the subway home, where I needed to eat, while Sammy played with the door, then watched videos on the projector, then on the tablet, then back to the door, then the headset... every few minutes he asks to do something different so there is no break. I was so very tired anyway. I didn't do much work in the afternoon. I got all the stuff ready we had to take with us and made a sandwich for Sammy. At 3:45 Sammy and I left the house together. 

We had to ride one subway and then  get on another one to ride just one stop to meet up with Daddy and Emmy. Randy had taken both Tammy and Emmy to ballet. Once Tammy was in class, he left with Emmy and together they walked to the subway station to meet up with us. But then the subway stopped and couldn't continue. We had to wait a short while, then it continued. We got off and walked to the second subway. However, when we got to the platform, there was a train sitting there and not moving. It was full of people and maybe just as many people were standing on the platform. The train was not going anywhere. Randy called and told me there was also a train sitting at their subway station. Some train somewhere was not able to move, so all the trains were not moving. We walked to the front of the train, and when I saw that there was another room for Sammy and me, we got on the train, not knowing when we'd be able to move. We were already later than we had planned to be, and Sammy was impatient for us to get going. I kept asking him to be patient.  When the train finally did start moving, he was very happy and said "thank you" to me. I answered that I hadn't done anything to make it move. The man standing next to us who had heard everything was smiling.

After one stop we were right where Randy and Emmy were waiting for us. Emmy hopped onto the train with us, while Randy walked back to the dance school. The class ended at 5 pm, then they rode the subway home, picking up leftover bread for a third of the price on the way home.

Emmy, Sammy and I rode the subway for a few stops, then we got off. We had to take a bus for two stops to go to his kindergarten. But the bus stop was not where my phone had told me it was. Some people pointed us into the right direction, and we found it and got on. After we got off, we walked to the kindergarten where we arrived perfectly on time.

There were a lot of other kids arriving for this special end-of-kindergarten-years sleepover in their classroom. Tammy had said that she didn't want to sleep there, and because of ballet and her performance tomorrow, she chose to go to ballet practice rather than stay the 3 hours for the movie night. It sure looked like everyone else had shown up for this special event. I had carried a big bag with Emmy's comforter and pillow, as well as his backpack with other essentials for the night. Emmy was so excited to see his friends, he didn't even said good-bye. The teacher then called him back to say good-bye to me. It's the first time ever Emmy is not sleeping in the same place we are. I hope he'll be alright. He was very concerned the others would find out he still needs a diaper at night and would laugh at him. I hope that's not going to happen.

Sammy and I left and walked back to the bus stop. We rode one bus, then another one. When we were nearly home at 5:40 pm, I called Randy as I knew he'd be coming home around this time as well. And they had just stepped off the subway train, so we walked home together. 

Back home, I went downstairs with Tammy for piano practice, then I cut up their fruit. Then I got changed, grabbed what I needed, said good-bye to the kids, and left the house. 

I had my scooter with me as I had to cover some distance to the tram stop, as well as after getting off the tram. Unfortunately I had just missed a tram so I had to wait for a long time for the next one. I rode it to the end, then rode my scooter to the restaurant where I arrived at 7:20 pm. Everyone else was already there. Every year around this time, the ten of us who graduated together in 1991 get together for an evening at a restaurant. I was the last one to arrive, so everyone else was already eating. I ordered and joined the conversation. As always, we had a great time reminiscing about the past, as well as talking about the present. Only one of the (only) girls had not made it. We took some pictures, and at 10 pm it was time to get going. A friend from the other end of the table and I were the first ones leaving. As we had been too far apart to talk, we did so walking back to the subway/tram stop. Then we went our separate ways.

I still had to wait a few minutes for my tram, then I got on. I was looking forward to getting home, especially in light of all I still needed to accomplish. But three stops before home the tram had reached a dead end. There were blue lights everyhwere, the fire department, and the tram driver let us know that there was no going any further, and he had no clue how long it would be. That was the third time today that I'd had issues with public transportation. He let everyone get off the tram right there and then. 

We were close to the S-train station, so I was wondering when the next S-train was going to come, as home was just one stop away on it. I checked, and it was doable. I rode my scooter there, then got on an elevator to the platform. When I got to the platform, it said 1 and 2, but I needed 3, so I went back down to get to the right one. I took the other elevator, but it took me to the same platform. So I walked over to the third elevator, but it was out of service. So was the fourth one. I was wondering what to do, then I suddenly realized the first two platforms had been correct after all, just the signs were misleading, so I got on the elevator again and went up. When I got off the elevator, I saw the train leaving the station. It was too late. I was really annoyed with myself. I checked my phone, but all the buses going in my direction from there were not coming any time soon.

I had no choice but to ride my scooter home from there. Thank God that I had my scooter with me! Unfortunately the sidewalks were pretty dark as the trees kept the light from the street lamps from reaching the sidewalks. I was hoping I wasn't going to hit anything I couldn't see, and I was lucky. A few times I got off my scooter for a few seconds to rest my leg that was already hurting, then I continued on. Just before 11 pm I was home. And as I walked away from the door, I hit the folded stroller right there, waiting to be sold, and cut open my shin. I was bleeding, and it was pretty painful. I had made it home safely on the dark sidewalks, but got hurt in my own home. 

I was glad I was home and turned my computer on, after having taken care of the wound. It was time to work on pictures and write my report. Now it's nearly 2 am, and tomorrow we have to leave the house early. I don't know how I'll function tomorrow.