Day 1541. Randy took Sammy to kindergarten and returned early at 8:45. He took Emmy and Tammy downstairs, while I got read to leave the house just after 9 am to once again go to the dentist. The same filling had fallen out a fourth time this year, and since I had also lost two other fillings, I had made an appointment to get it all fixed this morning.
It was a really windy day, making it feel colder than it was. I took the 9:20 train and got to the dentist just after 10 am. By 11 I left again and as I had just missed a train and had to wait for 30 minutes, it was 12:10 before I got home. Randy left immediately to go pick up Sammy, while I put yesterday's soup on the stove to warm it up. Once Randy and Sammy had returned, we sat down to eat. However, Sammy gets lunch in kindergarten at 11:30, and so he doesn't eat much at home just over an hour later. They all had icecream though today.
I was tired and stressed, trying to prepare my 2:45 class, but interrupted my work to put the kids to bed just after 1:30 pm. I put Sammy to bed and went to the top to lie between Tammy and Emmy. Usually Tammy falls asleep first that way, and recently the boys have had a tough time falling asleep at lunch time, especially Sammy. I was amazed that Emmy fell asleep, just because I told him he could have a candy bar if he sleeps, and left once both Tammy and Emmy were asleep. However, Tammy was not asleep all the way yet and raised up, when I left. And Sammy never fell asleep, once again. At some point Randy went downstairs with him. Then Tammy got up crying hysterically, wanting to go downstairs as well. I told her to lie down and sleep, but she wouldn't have it. I finally let her go downstairs as well, worrying how she'd do in the afternoon without her nap. I was amazed at how long Emmy slept.
At 2:40 I started teaching and ended at 3:30 pm. The we put their ski pants and coats on and left the house at 3:45. Sammy wanted to come as well, so it was the five of us who left. We took two subways and got off on the correct end of the train, but there was only a staircase. The kids needed to get to their class, and Randy and Sammy were not allowed to go inside anyway, as you had to have a ticket to go in, even just to watch. That's why I was wondering why Randy and Sammy had come in the first place. We walked up the stairs, while Randy took Sammy to the other end of the platform to take the elevator up. We quickly walked to the entrance, where a good number of people were by the cashier's windows. Thankfully we already had our season tickets and could go straight to the entrance. We scanned our tickets and went inside.
I had not been at that ice rink in a very long time, since my childhood, and even that I cannot remember. I found the changing rooms, and we went inside. They sat down, and I put their ski socks and ice skates on, then their ski gloves. It all took time, too much time, and they had to get to their class that was starting at 4:30 pm. I could hear my phone ring, figuring it was Randy, but I had no time to pick up. I did pick up after we had walked to the meeting point and had to stand in line to find out which teacher our kids were assigned to. Randy told me that Sammy was crying, because he wanted to be with us, but what could we do? Randy went back home with Sammy who cried the whole time until we returned home at 6:40. He called me a few times with video, so Randy could see me and his siblings and be comforted for a few minutes, but it didn't help much.
Having the minimum age and being complete beginners, Tammy and Emmy were assigned to two ladies who both had the same name Anna. The class lasted 90 minutes, which was pretty long, but the kids were doing great. It seemed that they fell more than any other kids, even though there were others that looked as young or even younger than them. Tammy did better after a while, but Emmy had a serious handicap. First the teacher, then the boss, came to me to explain that Emmy's shoes were actually hockeyshoes, making it much harder for him to walk on the ice. They even explained to me why and recommended for both kids the classical type of shoes with laces, as you can bind them tight to be a perfect fit for their feet. The boss said that it was obvious how much fun they were having and that it would be a shame that the wrong shoes would make them lose that. We'll have to try to get them the right shoes.
I was actually amazed at their perseverance, especially Tammy's. When she fell, she simply got back up and continued on. She seemed very focused, doing what she was supposed to. Emmy was always looking for someone to help him up, rather than getting up himself, and then he started staying on the ground. However, the teachers told him to always get up. He even tried to do a snow angel a few times.
Really all they did today was to walk on ice today. Sometimes they had to raise their arms up, one time they were supposed to go around cones. In the end they played a few games. Tammy showed me one time that she can already spin around. I stood at the entrance to the ice the whole time, watching them, and grinning much of the time as I was so proud of them, watching how great they were doing.
The 90 minutes did go by rather fast; they'd had a break after one hour, and one time Emmy needed to go to the bathroom, so I took him there. We walked back to the changing room, where they put their regular shoes back on. Then we headed to the exit.
Before we left, I went to the cashier and bought two more family member observer season passes, so that Randy and Sammy could also be there with us and watch, and so that Sammy would not have to cry for us for three hours every Tuesday. Then we walked to the subway, and took two subways home, where we arrived at 6:40 pm. When we opened the door, there was Randy sitting in the floor with Sammy. Sammy was so very happy to see us and hugged us all. I then held him tight for a few minutes before going to the kitchen to make their dinner.
They ate, then went to the bathtub, where they ate some more, then I read them a few stories, prayed for them and put them to bed. Sammy was asleep before I was done reading. As Randy had finished eating, he sat down by the kids, while I got myself something to eat and sat down at the computer to prepare for my 9:30 pm student. I then taught until 10:30 pm, then started working on the many pictures of today. It all took so long that I had to leave my report unfinished to go to bed at 2 am.
