Day 1711. Yesterday was a holiday, and I happened not to have any students, so that I had the much needed time to work on the newsletter's translations.
And Randy put together my scooter that had arrived the day before. I got it because we have so much walking to do on Friday, when I take them to tennis class. That way the three of us have scooters. In the afternoon I took a break from working and asked the kids to show me how to use the scooter. Emmy was proud to be able to show and explain Mommy how to do it. We used them in the hallway of our building, right outside our apartment door. I wasn't too bad, but it sure is sports, as I could feel the muscles in my legs.
Randy then took all three kids outside to have fun. They still had some eggs from Easter with dinosaurs inside that had to be dug out, and Tammy still had some precious stones buried in her block of clay. So they went to work to dig out their treasures. But first we got the ball of soil with seeds that they had made at the summer festival on Sunday and dug two little holes besides the tree right there that we put the balls in. One ball already had seeds sprouting inside. I'm curious to see whether any flowers are going to spring up in those spots.
Sammy was the first one to start coughing and have a runny nose, then Tammy and Emmy got it. I've had it too. This morning I decided to keep Tammy and Emmy home because of it, while Sammy went back to kindergarten after having stayed home on Tuesday. When Randy returned from having taken Sammy there, he went downstairs with Tammy and Emmy. I got ready for my 10 am student and then taught until 11 pm. Soon Randy and the kids came back upstairs, and I started cooking lunch. Just after noon Randy left to go pick up Sammy. Before they returned Emmy and Tammy sat down to eat, then Randy sat down to eat, and even though Sammy had had lunch in kindergarten, he still ate some food at home.
After lunch, the kids got on their tablets and relaxed, until Randy took them downstairs. Sammy was eager to go play with the new playdoh. Once they came back upstairs, I dressed Tammy and Emmy for their dance class, and Randy left with them at 3:45 to take them there. But this time Sammy and I were not staying home until their return. We still had some time to get ready and left home at 4:15 pm.
I had found out about a wheelchair kids class, and we were invited to go check it out today. It was in a school right around the corner from Tammy's and Emmy's kindergarten, so not far but terrible to get to using public transportation. We got on the 4:27 bus that we rode to the end, then had to wait for another bus. It didn't take very long so that we arrived by the school at about 5 pm. We saw a family with a child in a wheelchair outside and walked straight up to them. We started talking, then they suggested we'd go inside. We went inside the school and waited there, and more kids arrived and joined us. Then the lady in charge who I had talked to on the phone arrived. She greeted Sammy, then everyone took the elevator down to the basement where the gym was.
We went into the locker room, where the parents ended up staying, while all the kids went inside the gym, as did I. The lady in charge had an injury, which is why she wasn't able to use her wheelchair today. There was another adult, a man, sitting in a wheelchair. Sammy was the youngest kid, as the only other 4-year-old wasn't there today.
It was a one-hour class of just playing games together. The purpose of the class is for the kids to learn to use their wheelchairs. Sammy's left hand works better than his right, which is why he only uses his left hand to move the wheelchair, which means that he's just going in circles. The two teachers encouraged him to also use his right hand to be able to move straight ahead.
In the beginning Sammy was quiet, but he warmed up really quickly. A little girl took to him and helped him and held hands with him and even invited him to go have an icecream with her at some time. By the end of the class Sammy was talking and was loud and was acting like he's been part of the group forever. He had greatly enjoyed himself and said at the end, as they were saying goodbye, that he was going to miss everyone. It's a two-week break now, as the Thursday next week is a holiday.
We left and walked back to the bus stop. Instead of 30 minutes it took us an hour to get home! We didn't have to wait too long for the first bus, but we had to wait for the second bus and when it got there, it still sat there for 15 minutes before leaving. And so it was 7:15 pm before we got home, so much later than expected.
Sammy had been missing Daddy and was really happy to see him. The others had already been home for a while. I went straight to the kitchen to make their food. They ate, then we did a shorter bathtub session, before getting them ready for bed. I put Sammy to bed, then the others still wanted a story. Even though it was already 8:15 pm, I still read them a story, and they enjoyed it. Then I prayed for them, and they went to their own beds. I went to the kitchen to make myself something to eat, while Randy sat with them. I ate, then started working on the pictures. Now it's going on 1 am, and I still have to take care of the kitchen. Tomorrow is a long day for me.
