7 years 1 month 19 days

Day 2606. This is week 6 of school for the kids. On Monday I got up at 10:15 for the second time and got ready to teach at 11 am. I finished at noon, then warmed up leftovers for us to eat. I was too tired to go to the gym this Monday around. At 1:30 pm I picked up Sammy from school.

At 2:30 pm I started teaching. Randy and the kids returned home a few minutes later. I taught until 3:30 pm, then we went downstairs for piano practice. After that I went to the kitchen to make their sandwiches and cut up their fruit. At 4:30 Randy left with Tammy and Emmy to take them to their gymnastics class while I sat down to teach my next student. And I had two more at 5:30 and 6:30 pm. Randy returned home just after 5:30 and left again at 6 pm to pick the kids up at 6:30 pm. By 7 pm they were back home, before I was done teaching at 7:20 pm. They ate their fruit, then it was bathtub time. As I did not have an evening student, we had time before they went to bed. Then I went to the kitchen to make my salad and sat down to eat before going back to work.

Tuesday

I got up at 10:15 again to teach from 11 to noon. Then I went to the kitchen to cook. I picked up Sammy at 1:30 pm, and Randy came home with the other kids around 2:30 pm. At 2:45 pm he left again with Tammy and Sammy, while Emmy and I stayed home. I had a student at 3:30 pm. After I was done at 4:20 pm, Emmy and I also left the house.

We rode the subway for three stops, then waited for Randy and Sammy. Randy then called me and told me that he was still near the dance school, when he should already have been on the bus coming our way. I then told him to stay put, and Emmy and I got on the bus that was just arriving and rode it to where they were. We got off, and Randy got on to ride it for the one stop back to the dance school. The boys and I crossed the street to get on the bus going back the way we had just come. Sammy had had his weekly private lesson with a dance teacher and told me that he'd had a lot of fun.

After we got off the bus, we got on the subway and rode it to the end. Emmy was a little on the edge as we were cutting it close for him to get to soccer practice on time. So he put his soccer shoes on on the subway for him to be right away upon his arrival. In the end he was just one minute later which no one noticed. The boys were all warming up, running around with balls. Emmy's coach greeted Sammy, then he grabbed him and ran on the field with him. Together they kicked a ball all the way to the goal then scored a goal. The coach was cheering and called all the boys over for a race. He then raced with Sammy and cheered again when he and Sammy had won. You can tell how much fun Sammy had had! When Sammy and I left, there was another mother leaving with us. She then said to me that she had noticed at the soccer competition last Saturday what a great player Emmanuel is, how well he plays. Sammy and I then took the subway home. I did not have any students so I was able to cut up the kids' fruit and then make my salad. 

After Tammy was done dancing, she and Randy were supposed to pick up Emmy from soccer at 7 pm. Once again they were late, this time with 10 minutes, which I couldn't understand. When they got home just after 7:30 pm, Tammy asked me to be the one to pick up Emmy in the future because she wanted to go straight home. That means an hour for Sammy and me on public transportation instead of staying home.

They ate some fruit, then we went downstairs for piano practice. There was no time for the bathtub, so they went straight to bed after brushing their teeth. I then sat down to eat my salad before going back to work.

Wednesday

It was another 10:15 am morning. I taught from 11 to noon, then warmed up leftovers for us to eat. At 12:40 pm I left the house as I had to be at Sammy's school at 1 pm today. It was time for the conversation with Sammy's teacher and the physiotherapist to find out what they're currently working on and how we can support Sammy at home. We talked over half an hour, and it was quite informative. Then I put Sammy into his wheelchair, and we said our good-byes.

We were home before 2 pm. I then sat down to get ready for my 2:30 pm student. Randy and the other kids returned a few minutes later. At 3:20 pm I was done teaching, and we got ready to leave the house. I quickly made their sandwiches to take with us. 

Tammy, Emmy and I rode two subways, then walked to the French institute where their French class started at 4 pm. I sat down outside their room while they were in class. I was texting with Paul in Mali and then called him. It was quite funny as nobody usually understands me but being in the French institute, I was very aware that pretty much everyone around me could understand what I was saying. 

At 4:45 pm their class ended. They'd had fun - Emmy too much fun, according to Tammy. We then took two subways and walked to their next school. We walked up two stories and then to the classroom. We were a few minutes early, so the kids were the first ones to arrive. Tammy then asked the teacher if she spoke any French, and she answered that she had learned French in school. They then said that they could speak with each other. I left them there and went home where I arrived just before 6 pm. 

I went to the kitchen to make Sammy's sandwich and cut up fruit for all the kids. Randy left just before 6:30 pm to pick up Tammy and Emmy, and I gave him a box of fruit for the kids to take with him. I gave Sammy his food and sat down to get ready for my student. I then taught from 6:45 until 7:35 pm. Sammy did great, never calling for me. Randy and the kids returned a few minutes after I had finished. We then went downstairs for piano practice, then they went into the bathtub as I had no evening student, so there was time. After that it was time for bed. I prayed for them, they went to bed, and I went to the kitchen to make my salad. Then I sat down to eat before going back to work. Now it's going on 2 am, and I still have to load the dishwasher. And tomorrow I have to get up early.