4 years 10 months 20 days

Day 1785. New week, new camp. The alarm went off before 7 am. The kids didn't eat much, but just before 8 am I left with Tammy and Emmy to take them to their first day of the tennis camp they're a part of this week. Because of construction, the S-trains are not running this summer, so that we had to take a different route which meant it would take us nearly an hour to get there. We took our scooters with us to cover the walking distances faster. We had some distance to cover to get to the tram stop, then we had to wait longer than I would have liked for our tram. We rode it for a long time, all the way to the end, and it was really hot in there. We've been in a heat wave for about 10 days. Once we got off, we had to get on another tram and ride it for four stops, then there was some walking to do. Thank God for the scooters. However, today not only Emmy fell, which happens from time to time, but I fell for the first time ever, when I reached for my pocket to check that I had my phone with me. I skinned my arm near my elbow pretty bad and it's rather big.
We got to the sports center a few minutes before 9 am, which is when they had to be there. Tammy was already clinging to me and whining, while I was helping them put their indoor shoes in. There were two teachers right there, a man and a woman, who were really nice. There were 7 more kids registered, but one didn't show up, so there were 8 kids in total.
Then it was 9 am and time to go inside. Tammy was holding on to me tight and didn't want me to leave. I went inside with them. The teachers asked the kids onto the court for a game. Tammy refused to go and held on to me tight, crying. She was having a fit. I asked her why she wouldn't join. I finally understood her saying that she was scared. I asked her what she was scared of, and she said the other kids, which made no sense to me. In any case, I could not convince her to participate, even when I said I would stay and watch. Then I tried a new tactic - to simply leave. I closed the heavy door, thinking she couldn't open it and quickly moved to the exit of the building, another heavy door, but she was able to open both doors and was outside with me. So that strategy was not working. I had to catch her, then we went back inside together. I had her sit on my lap, and together we were watching the other kids play. I had my first student at 11 am, so I had a little time to spare. She still didn't want to participate.
Then the teachers got ready to do another game. They formed teams of 2, and suddenly her brother needed her as a teammate. I got up together with her and walked to the part of the court that was for them. Cones had marked a goal on either side of it. They were supposed to push the ball with their rackets and into the other goal. I finally got her to start doing it, and she was starting to enjoy it.
After this game, each teacher took four kids under their wings. Tamm and Emmy had two sisters in their group, one older, one younger. The teacher then showed them how to stand and what to do. Tammy was participating, and I stood to the side watching and taking pictures. Tammy was finally having fun. And then I took advantage of her being occupied and quickly left the tennis court, having to go way to the other end, quickly walked through the restaurant, where I could see that she was starting to look around for me, and left the building. I grabbed my scooter and started my long journey home. Tammy didn't start crying again, but enjoyed the rest of the day. When I picked them up, they were having fun, playing a game, and I had to wait for them to finish.
With this unplanned delay, it was close to 10:30 am by the time I was back home. Randy and Sammy had already left for his horse therapy session. And I had to get ready for my 11 am to 1 pm student. I'd had no water with me and hadn't had anything to eat yet, so both were much needed. I then taught until 1 pm. Randy and Sammy returned before then and warmed up some leftovers for lunch. After I was done teaching, I quickly got something to eat, then we all left the house to go pick up Tammy and Emmy.
We'd just missed a tram, so we had to wait quite a long time for the next one. I was surprised to see that it was already after 1:30 pm, when the tram arrived. I knew we were not going to be there at 2 pm, but the teacher had said we could come any time after that. It was about 2:15, when I got to the center. I had gone ahead on the scooter, while Randy and Sammy took their time arriving.
At first I did not see them anywhere and had to ask where they were. I hadn't even known there were more courts behind curtains. I found them and watched, while they were playing their game and finishing it. Then Emmy and Tammy ran to me. Tammy got to me first and jumped into my arms. Then we left and went to the restaurant, where they changed their shoes and picked up their backpacks. By now Randy and Sammy had also arrived. Then we left to go home.
It was a long trip home. Today I had spent 4 hours riding public transportation there and back. The kids were getting impatient, just wanting to get home, especially because it was so very hot. Once we did get home at 3:30 pm, we all jumped into the bathtub for a cold shower. We all enjoyed it greatly. Then we were ready to move on. Randy and the kids went downstairs, while I had to get ready for my 4 pm student. I taught until 5 pm, and then they all returned upstairs already. They were hungry, so I made dinner early for them, and all three ate well. Then they went into the bathtub and especially enjoyed making the water really cold. After they came out, we got them ready for bed. Tonight they were in bed a little earlier than their usual 8 pm bedtime. Emmy and Sammy fell asleep quickly, but Tammy was whining more than usual. And it's really hot up on her bunkbed. She always comes to our bed in the middle of the night. Tonight she was crying so hard for me that I needed to do something. I told her I needed to eat first before she could crawl in bed with me. She then agreed to sit with Daddy who was sitting by their bed anyway and fell asleep in his arms. It was midnight before she crawled into bed with me. Now it's going on 12:30 am, and I still have to do the dishes.