Sunday I got up and decided to go for a walk. I walked 3 miles. As you will discover, this was a bad idea just one week out of the hospital. I took the kids to school, and laid around the house most of the day. It was a lazy day for sure.
I went to the post office to pick up mine and Millie’s matching butterfly dresses I had ordered. They are so cute. Jack was to have a play date at his friend Hamdan’s house. As we were heading there, Hamdan called and asked if Jack could wait and come at 6 pm. Since Hamdan is an Emirati child he was fasting, it being Ramadan. Usually after school, the Muslims nap. Because we had already said Jack could go for a play date, I bowed and let him go at 6 pm. So we went home for a few hours and then headed to Hamdan’s house.
When we got there, we were greeted by Hamdan’s father. He welcomed us in and they wanted me to stay for Iftar, the meal at sundown that breaks their fast. Because Stuart had to do some work at the club, I had to get back to the house and stay with Millie as she was all ready for bed. But I told them maybe we could come another evening. Hamdan is a very nice boy and his parents are very sweet. As I was leaving, she packed up food for me, which was some of the food they would have for Iftar. She also offered me a sweet roll and insisted I eat it then. The strange part about this is that we are not allowed to eat in public during daylight. It was still daylight, so I felt a bit uncomfortable eating in front of her since she was still fasting, but I also didn’t want to be rude.
Once I was home, Stuart scooted off to the club and I watched tv. When he returned, I headed back to pick Jack up from Hamdan’s. They had been to the shop and Hamdan had bought Jack some slime and a ball. The Emiratis are such generous people, especially throughout Ramadan.
I discovered once we were home that I was coming down with a cold. It seems that the walk took too much out of me, and as Stuart pointed out, my immune system is compromised with my healing right now. So, I took some medicine and went to bed after picking Jack up.
I woke up feeling like crap. My head cold was in full force. I took the kids to school, went to get gas, then came home and napped on the sofa. I went to take Sean’s jeans to the tailors only to discover they were not open, as is the way with Ramadan hours. I picked Millie up early and went to the allergist to make sure she was doing ok.
We then went to the mall to go to Bounce. Because we were early we went to Carrefore to get some water and a snack for the kids. The kids can eat and drink in public before Iftar. We waited for Jack and his buddies and then the kids commenced to bouncing for the next two hours. When we got home, the kids unpacked their backpacks and we left to have dinner at the club.
After the kids played for a bit we headed home, leaving Stuart at the club for his Thailand Rugby tour meeting. I got the kids showered and Millie in bed. Then Lara came over for a chat. It had been a long time since we had a chin wag together. She left around 9:30 and I fell asleep on the sofa. This cold was kicking my tail.
Tuesday I worked on finishing up the data my Vice Principal wanted from me, and I also sat around and did a whole lot of nothing.
Stuart picked the kids up from school. When they got home they did some homework and then Millie and I headed to her dance class. When we returned, Stuart made sandwiches, the kids showered, and it was bedtime for Millie. Stuart made bbq pork ribs for supper and Jack decided to have a second meal. Oh my!
Once Jack had gone to bed, I took a shower and sat down on the sofa to watch some mindless television. I heard some hissing outside in the hall. I went out and Lara’s cat, Thunder, was having a stand off with Oreo and Pumpkin, our cats. Cat fights are scary. I scared Thunder out the back door and closed it. We usually leave it open for Duke, but I think when the sun goes down we are going to start closing it. This wasn’t the first time we had a strange cat in the house.
Wednesday, I gave feedback on lesson plans all day. This was also the day that we started hearing of a load of emails going out to release the western Assistant Principals and Principals of their jobs. The restructure of Abu Dhabi Education Council, becoming Ministry of Education, is proving to be very damaging to some. My principal was one of those who was let go. We are praying neither of us gets an email. It looks as if, for now, the only people getting emails are the poorly performing teachers, teachers who are 60 years old (yes, you read that correctly), people who have positions that don’t exist in the Ministry of Education, people who have worked for Abu Dhabi Education Council for 20 years, and some local principals who might not be making the cut. It’s a little unsettling for some of us. However, we are sure that God will work everything out for us, in the event we get the dismissal email.
Wednesday afternoon we picked the kids up from school we, once again, hit the trampolines for a couple of hours. When we got home, the Richardsons came over for bbq chicken sandwiches. We had a great time just talking and planning, possibly, our last weekend of our time together.
Thursday morning Stuart left at 3 am to get to Abu Dhabi and travel to Phuket for the rugby tour. I got up and fixed the kids’ lunches, then took them to school. I followed the email issues and the firing of administration staff through messages from friends and some of my teachers. Suzanne, a teacher at my school, came by the house for a visit. She brought me a bottle of wine and a box of chocolates. She came by just to check in on me. Once she had gone, I picked the kids up at Bounce. We stopped at a housing development by Hazza Bin Zayed stadium, where we finally visited the 7Eleven!
The kids got a slushie. They were so excited. We headed home and I made tacos in a bag for Claire, her friend Ashley, Cathy and the kids.
Yum!
Cathy left around 8:30 pm. The noise outside of our place was out of control at 10 pm. The Muslims here just flip their days and nights during Ramadan, which can be a bit annoying when you want to sleep at a reasonable time.
Friday morning I woke up to a text from Stuart stating that he got a message regarding a purchase on Jack’s PS4. When I approached Jack about it, he lied to me, telling me he accidentally pushed the button, when in fact, he knew exactly what he was doing. He paid for the upgrade he got and then was grounded from his PlayStation for the next two weeks. Why do kids lie? Makes me so angry.
Once we were fed and ready, the Richardsons picked us up and we headed to Abu Dhabi to go to Adventure HQ for the kids. The kids did different activities for an hour and a half while Clare and I walked around the mall looking for a place for a cup of tea. However, no place had screens that would cover us from being seen drinking in public, so we had to wait until 11 am when Applebee’s opened. We popped in while the kids were still skating, bouncing or climbing, and we had a lot of tea. Scott had gone to another mall with an Apple store to sort out an Apple Watch that a friend of Henry’s had given him.
At 11:30 we collected the kids and took them to Applebee’s to eat lunch. Once lunch was finished, we returned them to Adventure HQ for another hour and a half of play. We shopped a bit more and by that time I was wiped out. This was my first big outing since he surgery and I was really tired.
Once back in Al Ain, the Richardsons decided to stay at ours for dinner. I popped in some pastry puff sandwiches and some fries into the oven. They ended up leaving around 7:30 pm, and then it was bed for my two. I followed shortly after them. I was awaken at 2:15 am for some reason. I opened my bedroom door and all the lights in the hall and down the stairs were on. Jack was in the living room watching tv. What on earth? I forced him back to his bed. I think he was bothered for lying to me and it was weighing on his mind.
Saturday morning we were all awake by 7:30 am. The kids had breakfast and then we got ready to go to the pool. We met one of my grade 1 teachers, Jaime, and her daughter at the pool. Cathy joined us as well. We stayed at the pool for a couple of hours and then went into the restaurant for lunch.
Once we were back home, Scott called and wanted to know if I wanted him to pick us up to come to their house for dinner. Duke came with us as well.
The kids played and Clare and I talked. Dinner was had and then Scott brought us home. As usual, the kids took showers at the Richardsons so once we were home, they were ready for bed, and so was I. We had a nice weekend, but we were ready for Stuart to come home.
We had reports from him via WhatsApp. He was enjoying Thailand, as he always does.
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