6 years 6 months 20 days

Day 2395. This is no typical week. Most Monday mornings I don't have students but I did this time. My third alarm went off at 10:30 am, and I taught from 11 to 12. Then I made a quick lunch for Randy and myself. At 1 pm Randy left to pick up Tammy and Emmy, while I left 15 minutes later to pick up Sammy. 

Sammy and I were back home before 2 pm, and I prepared for my 2:30 pm student. Randy and the kids returned just as I started teaching, and they soon went downstairs to play. I was done at 3:20 pm and went to the kitchen to make sandwiches for everyone. Emmy then wanted to do his reading practice before leaving as they now get stickers/cards from me whenever they do something. Emmy is collecting Soccer World  Cup cards and takes every opportunity to get a new one. 

At 3:50 pm I left the house with Tammy and Emmy. Randy and Sammy stayed home, and Sammy got to walk with his walker we have at home. They also picked up some leftover bread. Tammy, Emmy and I rode two subways and walked to the premises of the programming club where they go every Monday afternoon. When we got there ten minutes early, their good friend that is in the same group was already there and waiting for them. They rushed in, and I left to walk to the nearby McDonald's to teach. 

When I got there, the sectioned off room with a door that is more quiet was closed with a "reserved" sign. That was annoying. And there was no room anywhere else, plus the noise level was high. As it's not as cold any more, though it was a colder day, I left and went to the nearby bakery I've taught at before. They only have a kind of bar with bar stools, unheated, and the table being narrow, but it was my only option. I ordered a hot drink, sat down and got my computer out. A few minutes later I started teaching. Thankfully I was not cold. 

After I was done teaching, I wrapped up and packed up and walked back to the programming club. Their friend's Mom was already there, and together we went inside to find out what they had done. While the very young teacher had said last week that they were going to do something different this week, that was not the case. They had once again used a hand-held 3D-printer to make something. That was a little disappointing. Then we packed up and left. We walked to the subway and took two subways home.

By 6:30 pm we were back home, and I went straight to the kitchen to cut up fruit for the kids. Then I prepared for my 8 pm student while they were eating. Next we went downstairs for piano practice. Back upstairs, it was bathtub time, then prayer time. There was no time for a story. I sat down to teach at 8 pm, while both Tammy and Emmy lay down in my bed next to me. When I was done at 9 pm, I took them to their beds, then went to the kitchen to get something to eat. After a break, I went back to work.

Today I had a very busy day because of us leaving town tomorrow. I normally don't teach Tuesday morning but I did today. I got up again at 9:30 am and taught from 10 to 11 am. Then I cooked some pasta and sat down to teach again at 11:30 am. When I was done teaching at 12:30, I sat down to eat lunch, my first meal of the day. At 1 pm Randy left to pick up Tammy and Emmy, while I left fifteen minutes later to pick up Sammy. Sammy has been telling everyone at school about our trip; he's so excited!

We were back home before 2 pm. I had some work to do, and Sammy was on his tablet. Time went by too fast. When I realized what time it was, I quickly made the kids' sandwiches and left with Sammy just before 3:30 pm. We rode the subway for 3 stops and got off. When I looked at the elevator, it was out of order and there was a long staircase down. I prepared myself to take Sammy down step by step when a middle-aged man offered to help me carry the wheelchair down. That was very kind of him. He took the front of the wheelchair and went down backwards step by step. Another lady came up next to him to make sure he didn't misstep. It was very kind, and I was thankful.

Once on the bottom, we took a few steps in the direction of the bus stop, then stopped to wait for Randy and the kids. Randy had picked them up and taken them straight to Emmy's soccer class that starts at 2:30 pm. It was in walking distance from where we were waiting. After a few minutes of waiting, they arrived. I gave Randy Tammy's sandwich and took Tammy's schoolbag to take it home. I hugged Tammy good-bye, and Randy and Tammy walked to the bus to take it to her dance school where she had two classes from 4:30 to 6:30 pm.

The boys and I took the subway home. It was already 4:03 pm when we arrived, and I had a 4 pm student so I quickly sat down at the computer to teach. And I didn't just have one student, but I had three in a row as I cannot teach tomorrow. It was not ideal for the boys to be by themselves for three hours. The first hour, they played together, and I heard them laugh a lot. The other two hours they were on their devices, each one of them by himself. 

I finished at 7 pm and was pretty exhausted. I went straight to the kitchen to cut up fruit for them, and then Randy and Tammy arrived. I gave them their fruit and sat down at the computer to prepare for my 8 pm student. It was 7:30 pm before we went downstairs for piano practice.  By the time we went back upstairs, there were only minutes left. There was no time for anything. I prayed for them and asked them to put their pj's on and brush their teeth. Then I sat down to teach at 8 pm. Tammy and Emmy then came to lie down in my bed but it doesn't work when they are both in the same bed as they fight. I finally had to kick them out as they were not sleeping and disturbing my lesson.

At 9 pm I was done teaching and went to the kitchen to get something to eat. I ate and took a break, then went back to work.