4 years 1 month 2 days

Day 1493. Last night was just a little bit better, but Emmy still came and left way too many times, and I still struggled with this deep cough. At 6:45 am Sammy was up - half an hour before the alarm. I joined him in his bed and had fun with him until the alarm went off. Then I got up, and so did Randy, and emptied the dishwasher. Tammy was up next, then Emmy. They wanted hot chocolate, so I gave it to them, as well as yogurt, besides the oatmeal Randy makes. However, Tammy wasn't eating much, while Emmy eventually ate everything.

On day 3 of kindergarten for Sammy, it was Randy who took him there, and they left at 8:15 am. The goal was for him to stay until 11 am, but they already left at 10:30, right after the exercise slot, and were home by 11 am.

As for the other two, I got some stuff out for them to do, to do some kindergarten of our own. They both had to accomplish some tasks and did a great job. Then they had a picture to color. Emmy suddenly did not want to do it and threw a fit, while I was working on getting some electronics ready for an electronic teaching device for them, which I ended up not getting sorted out for them. In the end I helped Emmy with the coloring, which he enjoyed.

Then they were free to play whatever they wanted, while I opened my computer to work. I was still not feeling well.  At 10:30 I went to the kitchen to start cooking, and Sammy returned while I was there. Once all the ingredients were in the pot, I walked away. I was feeling even worse, with deep coughing fits. At noon we sat down to eat, then I had to lie straight down. I tried to get some rest, which was hard with all the coughing. Then I had to get up to help with whatever it was. Just before 1:30 pm I put them to bed for their nap and returned to my own bed. They fell asleep quickly, but I had not time to sleep. I was getting everything ready for us to leave the house after my student, as well as everything for my afternoon student at 2:15 pm. When I started teaching, I was the only one awake in the house, and I had smartly set an alarm for just before 3 pm. I had a hard time teaching because of the many coughing spells, and having trouble keeping my eyes open.

When I finished at 3:05 pm, I was supposed to immediately leave with Emmy and Tammy to make the 3:20 pm train. It took me a few minutes to really get them ready, and Sammy was crying, as he hates being left behind. The three of us finally left the apartment and walked as fast as possble to the train station to catch the train, and we did.

The kids were hungry, and so I bought a pastry after we got off. Then we continued on our way to the school, where their new exercise class is behing held. We finally found the entrance and went inside to the locker room, where there were quite a few people, plus an open entrance to the gym. I was amazed that Emmy had never said he was scared or didn't want to go at all today. They were watching the previous class with interest, while I was putting their sports shoes on, and more and more people arrived. The previous class ended, and then it was their turn to say their names and go inside. Because it was their very first class (they missed the first one last week), I was allowed to stay.

There were 14 kids between the ages of 4 and 6, which was quite a lot, and two trainers. They had them sit on the black circle on the ground in the middle of the room. Tammy and Emmy did really well during the whole class, behaving perfectly and following all the instructions. And it was obvious that they were having fun, as they were smiling most of the time. The theme of the day was games with movement, and so they did different games with them, where they had to move and do certain things. Tammy and Emmy both got put into the middle once each, when they were the last one standing not having a hoop to stand in. The last game was a competition between two teams, and they fought valiantly. Obviously it's visible that they are among the youngest of the group. But there were others who did much worse.

After about 50 minutes it was over. They got a big paper with a drawing and a path and were given the first two stickers for the first two classes. Then we went back to the locker room to put their sandals back on and go home. We walked back to the train, took the 5 pm train and were home by 5:15 pm. Sammy was really happy to see us. I held him briefly, but had to get ready for a student at 5:30 pm. Randy ended up going downstairs with them, while I started teaching. I was still having a tough time health-wise. Some of the coughing spells are so bad, they make me vomit.

As soon as I was done teaching at 6:20 pm, Randy and the kids were back upstairs. I gave them some soup to eat, as they were hungry, then made their bread with salami and fruit that they were eating at the table. They continued eating in the bathtub, then we got them ready for bed. I read them a bedtime story - at least my voice being better - then prayed for them and put them to bed. It was not that much after 8 pm yet, so rather early. They were talking for some time, and Emmy wanted Daddy to sit by them, while Tammy kept calling for me. I went to her a few times. Soon they were all asleep. I found myself something to eat, then started working. Now it's not yet midnight, and I have yet to clean up the kitchen before going to bed.