5 years 9 months 29 days

Day 2128. Today was our last day in Vienna, and it was just as busy if not more than the last few days. Randy left with Sammy at 8:30 to take him to kindergarten, while the other kids stayed home. They had a hard time letting me sleep, much to my dismay, and at 8:45 I got up to get ready to leave the house. Around 9:10 am we also left the house.

We walked to the subway and rode it downtown, then we walked the rest of the way to the dentist. Finally my last dental visit for this bridge, but having to pay the horrendous amount of money we don't even have. We got there right on time for my 9:45 am appointment. I registered, and we sat down and had to wait a few minutes. Then my name was called, and the three of us went inside the doctor's office.

The kids sat down on two chairs there, with their tablets, but Tammy soon put it aside and started looking at everything and asking questions about everything. The doctor then said at one point that she'll be a dentist one day. The doctor then got my permanent bridge out, did some more adjusting for a while until it fit, and I was finally done. It was time to say good-bye, pay, and leave. The kids grabbed some of the candy lying there for patients before we did.

We walked back to the subway and rode it home where we arrived at 10:40 am. Randy had also just come home after picking up a few necessities from the grocery store. I hadn't eaten anything yet, so I went to the kitchen to make a quick lunch. We then sat down to eat at about 11:15 am. Then it was time to continue packing. 

At 12:15 we all left the house together and rode the subway for two stops to Sammy's kindergarten where we arrived right on time for his 12:30 end-of-semester summer party. They had set up chairs for the parents in the room, and a lot of them were already there. Sammy was very happy to see us, and we also sat down on the chairs. Tammy and Emmy went straight outside to their little playgound and started playing.

When the parents had all arrived, and the program could begin, we called the kids inside, and all the kindergarten kids sat down on the mat on the ground, including Tammy and Emmy. Then the main teacher in charge of the group took the microphone and said they were handing out Oscars to everyone in the group today. Each kid of the group was a winner of a category. Sammy had to wait the longest as he was the last one to be called since he's the only one leaving to go to school after the summer. He won the category of school kid. In her description, she said that Sammy was a child that was an example to others without knowing it. That was really special. 

He was very excited when his name was called. The physiotherapist helped him up and carried him to the throne they had set up for the winners. Then the main teacher gave him a self-made medal that read "2025". Next she gave him a school cone, which is what we give first-graders on their very first day of school. It was red and had a picture of Mickey on it as well as Sammy's name. Sammy was very excited! She also gave him a diploma/certificate. Then she carried Sammy to Daddy, where I took a picture of him. The cone had some very nice stuff inside - a Mickey to cuddle, a Mickey ball, some candy and bubbles. Sammy couldn't stop smiling, and his siblings wanted to have some of his stuff right away. 

The program was over, and the kids got some food from the buffet and drinks and went outside on the playground, which we all did. Sammy's favorite teacher he talks about a lot, a civil servant only doing this year, came and blew some bubbles for Sammy, but Sammy wanted to play ball. I then played with him for a while, while Emmy was playing ball by himself. Tammy was running around doing all kinds of stuff and then started playing with the water that was there. 

And then Sammy's first grade teacher joined us to talk to us briefly. She asked whether we had any questions. Sammy's going to be the only first-grader in his class, as the other kids will be grade 2 through 4. I found out that the first school day will be shorter and what time it ends. 

The teacher left, and we were soon called back inside. The parents had put money together to buy gifts for all the teachers, and they were handing them out to them. Tammy and Emmy were trying to be the ones to hand them out, but it wasn't their kindergarten!

After that part was done, the physiotherapist said it was time to kick Sammy out of kindergarten. He got scared, probably taking her words literally, and was holding on to her hard. She carried him out of the room and told him to say good-bye to kindergarten as he was not coming back. Then she walked to the next room which is going to be Sammy's classroom, which Sammy already knew. The main teacher put a mat on the floor, then the two of them together took Sammy and swung him back and forth and then on top of the mat that was right inside the room. There, he was warmly welcomed by the teachers and students of his future class. The main teacher we had talked to earlier wasn't there, however. Then they got him back up. The physiotherapist said good-bye to Sammy, then Sammy saw his favorite teacher and wanted to hug her and say good-bye. In the meantime I got his wheelchair, and they put him in. They kept saying that the time had finally come for Sammy to go to America. He must have talked about it a lot. 

It was time to leave. We walked to the subway and rode it home. By 2:10 pm we were home. The next point on my program was to dye my hair all by myself as too much gray was showing again. That took a while. Sammy loved watching me, and watching the color color all the water coming off my hair. Then I had some other things to get done, including preparing for my only student of the day. At 3:50 pm I left the house with Tammy and Emmy. 

We took two subways, then walked to the location of their programming class that always starts at 4:30 pm. We got there on time, and I said good-bye, until later. Then I walked to the bakery at the nearby train station. I got myself a drink and a pastry and sat down at the high table. I got my computer and stuff out, connected to the wifi, and started teaching at 4:45 pm. I taught until 5:35, packed up, and walked back to the programming club. 

I got there just in time as the parents were supposed to be there 15 minutes early since it was the last class before the summer break. The kids showed me that they had done 3D-printing today - a house they designed on the computer and had printed, and a butterfly they made with a 3D-printer-pen, by hand. Pretty cool!

We all sat down in the other room where there were drinks and candy. After a few minutes their teacher started, saying a few words to the parents, telling them what the kids are going to learn next year. Then she called the four students up one after another and gave them their certificates and a gift bag. They were happy. 

Then it was time to go home, so we said our good-byes and left. We walked to the subway and rode two subways to get home. It had been an extremely hot day so a thunderstorm started before we were back home. It was just after 6:30 pm, and Sammy was happy to see us. I went to the kitchen to make their dinner, using up what we've got. Then I continued packing. After they had eaten, they went to the bathtub, and after they had come out, we did story time. Then I prayed for them and put them to bed.

It was time for me to get some food. The kids were fussing for a while, and at 9 pm Emmy was still up and crying. He was saying he was scared. I talked to him and was finally able to get him to calm down and fall asleep. I then continued packing and packing and packing. Now it's 1 am and I have not much left to do in terms of getting ready for our departure early in the morning. You'll just have to be patient in regards to the pictures of today, as I won't get them done tonight.