4 years 9 months 16 days

Day 1750. We didn't have to get up at a specific time this morning. The boys were up early, as usual, while Tammy and I stayed in bed. Eventually I woke Tammy up and asked her to go eat breakfast. Then I dressed her and Emmy, and Randy left with them just before 9 am. It was time to get the paper that declared them free of chickenpox. They would have probably already been given a clean bill of health on Friday, but since Sammy had his horse therapy anyway, it worked out fine this way. Randy crossed town with them and waited with them in the waiting room of the pediatrician. They didn't have to wait long. A doctor came out to them, had them lift their shirts, asked a few questions, and then wrote them the paper confirming that they were not infectious any more. They ended up getting home before Sammy and me.

Sammy and I had another hour at home before we had to leave the house. We left at 10 am, took the subway, then a bus, and got to the horse therapy center early. However, the therapist was already available and came over to talk to me. She wanted to know whether we'd seen any benefits from the horse therapy, and I told her how impressed the physiotherapist at the kindergarten had been. She said that she'd always see an improvement after but didn't know how long-lasting it was. Because of the benefits, Sammy continued with the horse therapy through the summer.

The sun had come out, and so we headed to the outside area, where Sammy rode in circles, while doing what the therapist told him, which was mainly to sit up straight. Pretty soon Sammy was already saying that he was tired and wanted to go home. He did another round, and as it had started raining again, we went back inside, where he did one more round before she decided to end the session early. He never finishes a whole session as it's pretty tiring for him. She helped him off the horse and walked him back to me and to his wheelchair. Then we said our good-byes. Unfortunately I'm not allowed to share the pictures from the therapy there publicly.

We walked to the bus stop, rode the bus to the subway and went home from there. Sammy was happy to see his Daddy again. It was not even noon yet. Everyone was hungry, and so I went straight to the kitchen to make lunch, and soon we all sat down to eat together. For the last time on a weekday, as everyone is going back to kindergarten tomorrow.

After lunch, I soon went downstairs with the kids, while Randy left to go to the grocery store. They were drawing, and Tammy now likes cutting. I was still moving stuff to my office from upstairs and setting things up the way they should be. I also got an electronic piano and sheet music not that long agao. It's time to pick up some hobbies again, especially seeing the kids play the piano (and playing tennis). And as they've already broken my cheaper keyboard so that quite a few keys don't work any more, I needed a new one. I'm actually taking a few piano lessons in July, so as to refresh my classical piano skills. I've already been playing some classical music these past few days, and am getting back into it faster than expected. I used to play very, very well as a teenager.

Just after 2:30 pm Randy returned. He put all the groceries up, then came downstairs. I was about to start teaching at 3 pm. It was my only student of the day - an 8-year-old third grader, doing math with her. I'm actually enjoying teaching math again. After that lesson, I went back to doing office work, and of course there's always something the kids need from me, as their playroom is right there next to me. Sammy was pretty cranky, and Randy finally took all the kids upstairs just before 6 pm. I finally had some peace and quiet to get things done, but at 6:15 pm I also went upstairs. I went to the kitchen to start making their dinner, which was the beginning of our evening routine.