6 years 5 months 27 days

Day 2371. 

Wednesday

On Wednesday I got to sleep a little longer as my first student was at 11:30 am. I was done at 12:30 pm, then I made lunch and ate. Randy left at 1 pm to pick up Sammy and take him to his horse therapy. Since Tammy and Emmy have an additional hour at school on Wednesdays now, I took the 2:12 pm bus, then a second bus to pick them up. They got out of school at 2:40 pm, and we started our trek home. 

Thankfully I didn't have a student right away once we got home around 3:30 pm. We were able to go downstairs for piano practice, finished reading practice, then I made their sandwiches. Randy left with Tammy and Emmy just before 5 pm to take them to their swim class, while I stayed home with Sammy. I cut up all their fruit that Sammy already started eating. At 6:40 pm I started teaching; Sammy had to occupy himself until Randy got home with the kids just after 7 pm, and he did fine. 

After I was done teaching, it was bathtub time for Sammy but the other two wanted to take a bath as well. We didn't have time for a story since it was already so late. They were getting ready to go to bed, while I sat down to teach. I was done at 9 pm, then I got myself something to eat and took a break before going back to work.

Thursday

On Thursday I didn't have much time to sleep as I had a 9:30 am student. My next one was at 10:45, and I finished at noon. We had lunch, then Randy left at 1 pm to go pick up Tammy and Emmy, and I picked Sammy up at 1:30 pm. I then started teaching at 2:20 pm, ten minutes before Randy and the kids returned. After I was done, I went downstairs for piano practice, then made their sandwiches. Just before 4 pm I left with Tammy and Emmy so we could take the 4:05 pm train. After we got off, we took the tram, then walked to the school where they have their exercise class. It was the 3rd of four session of athletics, and it was the very first time they didn't send any pictures later. I sat in the locker room and closed my eyes as I was so very tired. 

While we were there, Sammy was at his wheelchair kids class. He loves going there. They were playing some game with sticks and balls.

At 5:45 pm Tammy's and Emmy's class ended. We took the tram to the train station where we had quite a while to wait for the train as the trains are still not all running. By 5:45 pm we were back home. I went straight to the kitchen to start cutting up their fruit. Randy and Sammy then soon arrived home as well. While they were eating, I was preparing for my 8 pm student. Then it was bathtub time, story time and prayer time before they went to bed. I taught until 9 pm, then got myself something to eat and took a break.

Friday

When we woke up early in the morning, everything outside was covered in 10 centimeters of snow that had come down during the night. It looked beautiful. Randy left with Tammy and Emmy just after 7 am, as usual, to take the 7:12 am bus but time went by and no bus, so they took the subway and had to take a tram after that but the tram was not running either. So they took a bus to another bus, and this time those were running. However, the kids arrived at school at 8:20 and class started at 8 am so it was their very first time getting to school late. As they had PE at 8 am and their class had gone to another nearby school for that, they sat down in fourth grade until their classmates returned.

I normally go back to sleep after 7 am while Sammy is on his tablet but many times he won't let me sleep. Randy usually returnes around 8:15 and then takes Sammy to school. When he wasn't there at 8:20 am, I got up and dressed Sammy so he'd be ready to go right away. When he wasn't there at 8:30 am, I called Randy and found out he had only just dropped off the other kids. For Sammy to get to school at a decent time, I had to take him, so I did. He got there just before 9 am, and many kids had still not arrived because of the snow chaos. I then returned home and lay back down for a short time, but it was too short to sleep. I got up at 9:30 am to get ready for my 10 am student. I then taught until 11 am, then I had another student from 11:30 to 12:30 pm. Once I was done, I left immediately to go pick up Sammy from school. Once I had him dressed and we were leaving the building, we saw one of his teachers and classmates throwing snowballs at each other right outside. Sammy joined in and three a few balls at them as well, then we continued on home.

Randy had already left the house at noon to pick up Tammy and Emmy and take them to their tennis class. The kids were enjoying all the snow everywhere as they still had time before their class. At their tennis class, Emmy and Tammy were playing separately, with other boys or girls respectively. Maybe it was preparation for their first tennis competition in March when boys and girls will compete separately. 

After tennis, Randy took the train with them, as usual, to go downtown and then on to break dance. Sammy and I had left the house just after 3 pm to take two subways to meet up with them. We were on the platform there waiting for them when Randy called me. He told me that the train had stopped after two stops and not continued on. All the trains were stuck there not going anywhere so that they had no way to meet up with us which is why they were going home. Emmy would have to miss his breakdance class. That was very annoying having gone through all the effort of pushing Sammy through the snow to get there with him, and now we had to turn around and go back home "empty-handed". By 4:30 pm we were back home, and Randy and the other kids returned some time later.

At 5 pm I started teaching and taught until 7 pm. Then I cut up their fruit for them to eat . After they had eaten, we went downstairs for piano practice, then it was bathtub time. I didn't have a 8 pm student for a change so we had time for a Bible story. Then I prayed for them, and they went to bed while I got myself something to eat and take a break. 

Saturday

Today my alarm went off at 9:30 am but I was already up before that because of the kids waking me up. Just before 10 am I left the house with Tammy and Emmy. It had rained a lot on all the snow from yesterday so it was icy and rather wet. We rode the subway downtown doing reading practice, then walked to their music school where we arrived early. At 10:30 am their class started. 

As a warmer, their teacher asked whether they had played in the snow. Then she did the greeting song, followed by the finger warmup. Next she reviewed two old songs, then she did the singing song with them. Emmy was bored and didn't behave very well. And then I remembered that he was supposed to tell the story at the end today. We had completely forgotten about that. Thankfully he knew the story well, so he did a great job telling it. Then they got their stickers and stamps, and the class was over. I checked with the teacher about songs they could play at the Easter Party, then we put our coats and shoes on and left.

We walked back to the subway and rode it home. By noon we were back home, and I went straight to the kitchen to cook lunch. We ate, then I had to get ready for my 1 pm student. Randy and Sammy left at 1 pm for him to go to his music class at the same music school. He loves his teacher and the class and had lots of fun there. There's now also another student in that class so he's not alone anymore.

I finished teaching at 2 pm. The kids were watching a movie. I then lay down and was on my phone. At 3 pm Randy returned with Sammy, and I soon closed my eyes to get a nap as I was very tired. At some point Randy took the kids downstairs to play. I had a timer set as I had no other afternoon students which meant we could go to church. Just after 4 pm we left the house together to take the 4:20 pm train, then we took the subway to the shopping mall. We crossed it and got to church with plenty of time until the start of the 5 pm service. However, I could see right away that there were no people and everything was dark. Sometimes there is a join service instead of their 5 pm service, and I never know when that is the case. It was quite annoying to have come to church in vain. I could have slept longer plus I have plenty of work I need to get done. We had no choice but to turn around.

While walking through the entertainment center to get back to the subway, and there's always lots to see. We kept walking but then let them do this bumper car ride. Tammy and Emmy were each in one, and Randy was in another one with Sammy. They were having fun bumping into each other. Then we continued walking to the subway to go home.

By 5:45 pm we were back home, and I went straight to the kitchen to make dinner for the kids. While they were eating, I was preparing for my 8 pm student. Tammy finally lost her second front tooth on top, catching up with her brothers. She wanted to do piano practice, so we went downstairs for that. Back upstairs it was bathtub time. After that, we still had plenty of time for a story. Then I prayed for them, and they went to bed while I sat down to teach. After I was done at 9 pm, I got myself something to eat and took a break before going back to work.