Starting our 7th year in the UAE

Well, the lead up to the first of the year was quite exciting. Jack was so ready to go to the senior school, which happens for our Year 6 children, the equivalent of 5th grade. Millie could take or leave school. She was just excited to get back to her social life. Stuart was nervous and I was dreading my new grade level a bit, and the fact that I would be out numbered by men this year. 

The kids are growing faster than I like. 

We all dressed our best for the first day. 

School was rushed the first day, and a bit overwhelming, but my class was so lovely. It made me thankful I actually did move up with the Year 2s from last year. The day went quickly, but because we didn’t have special classes I didn’t get anything done, so I took it home with me to work. Once we were home we headed to the club for a committee meeting. The big Open Day that starts all the rugby festivities for the year was set for Friday, the 6th and there were things that needed to be finalized. After the meeting we all headed home for dinner, showers and a much needed early evening. 

Monday morning was another good start, but Jack wasn’t up as early as the previous day. He still got up and got his lunch fixed, breakfast made, dressed, did his hair and teeth, and was ready to leave at 6:30 am. Millie did all of those things as well, but not quite as cooperatively.  Monday after school we headed to get Millie’s new bed, which turned out to be a bit of a pain. It took two trips to get everything and it turned out that the lifting wasn’t good for my back at all. 

Millie kicked up a fuss going to bed because we hadn’t put her bed together. Oh my goodness 8 year olds are impatient. We didn’t have time to put her new bed together which upset her beyond reason. We promised we would do it the following evening. 

The kids had showered while Stuart and I were messing with the bed. They were fed and in bed. We followed shortly. My back had really taken a turn so I decided I would go to the doctor the following day after school. 

Tuesday we decided to go to school together as a family as Stuart didn’t have anything to do regarding his exit process with the government schools. We didn’t have a staff briefing as we normally do so we were thrilled. We left to go home and get Jack ready for his golf lesson. I decided to take him to his lesson while Stuart was sorting out the bed situation. Millie’s old bed was going downstairs where it used to be and her new bed would be constructed when I got home. She was so excited.  

Once Jack and I got home I helped Stuart finish building Millie’s bed while Jack showered. The kids ate dinner and Millie climbed the stairs to her new bed. She was so excited. Then she reported that the mattress was hard. Ugh!

Wednesday morning found me with severe back pain, to the point that I decided I would go to the doctor after school. The school day was busy, but that will soon settle and all will be calm again. Jack was still loving school and Millie was still tolerating it. However we did forget her swim kit so she came bawling to me. I ended up driving back home to collect it for her. It was kind of my fault. 

After school I headed to the doctor while Stuart and the kids stayed at school for a bit. When they got home Alice  and Tommy ariived at our house. Joan took the girls ice skating and Stuart took the boys to play football (soccer) at the rugby club. I got home around 6 pm with anti inflammatory meds. Everyone else arrived on the scene around 7:30 pm. Then it was showers and bed for the kids. Stuart and I stayed up for a bit to watch television. We have caught up on all the Netflix series and now need to find a new show to watch. Otherwise we just watch home shows which are not my favorite. 

We finally made it to the end of the week. Thursday was the best day of school to this point. Of course, with the end of the first week I knew that my lesson plans would need some serious attention for the following week. So I would be working through the weekend. 

I had to go to the bank after school. On my way back home I got a call from Jack’s House Master, which is kind of like a school counselor. There had been an incident at school and Jack had been a part of it. It was mainly the younger boys taking the older boys’ footballs and kicking them away from the older boys. And then Jack was accused of telling a local child that his mother was a dog in Arabic. In the Islamic culture the worst insult you can give to someone is referring to them as an animal. Oh, my poor little low man on the totem pole. He swears he didn’t say anything, but who knows. Either way, we are hoping this is a lesson for him and he learns the pecking order, so to speak. 

Once I was home, we spoke to Jack and told him there may be a consequence from the school. We’ve decided he’s an excited puppy who doesn’t know when to stop. I suppose he will learn that older children don’t appreciate him immature behavior. I’m not sure how that is taught other than to experience this kind of thing. He was a bit somber for the rest of the evening and kind of stayed to himself. I’m hoping he was reflecting on his actions. 

We had Cathy and Sean over for dinner. Cathy left relatively early, but Sean stayed until around 11 pm. When he went home, we went to bed. 

Friday morning we got up and headed to the supermarket. The idea was the kids would tell us some things they wanted to put in their lunches. We ended up buying a lot more than we had planned, but isn’t that the way it always goes?

We got home from the store and Stuart made chicken pot pie while I did some school work. I’m hoping this weekend is the last one I do any school work, but I fear it won’t be. Once we had a bite to eat we headed to the club for the Open Day. The only thing I really had to do was meet the foam guy and make sure he knew where to set up. The crowds were amazing. The kids had a blast in the foam and on the slip and slide, until Jack didn’t. He came to me and told me that one of the moms told him he was being a bully and if he was going to pick on someone he should pick on someone his own size. Well, don’t think I didn’t have words with that mom. I’m totally okay with someone correcting my kids, and telling them they need to be careful, but don’t call my kid a name. What a horrible thing for an adult to do to a child. I think I made myself clear about things. This is the same mother who told her son that he wasn’t to be around Jack as Jack is a bad influence. The reason we know this is because when Jack wanted to play in the pool with him early in the summer, he repeated what his mom had said. I told her she was welcome to have her opinion about my son because I had my own opinion about her son. However, I would never say anything to my son about her son or his behavior. It was a damper to the night for sure. I felt badly for Jack. He’s a kind boy and doesn’t mean any ill intent. He’s just a giant puppy and his mind is not terribly mature so often he acts before he things of the end result. 

We got home around 9 pm. It was a successful evening and we were all exhausted. Millie, Jack and I showered and they went to bed. Stuart took a shower and went to bed as well. I, of course, stayed up to watch television and ended up falling asleep on the sofa. 

Saturday morning we went to school to work for a while. The kids went to Lara and Brian’s while we were at school. We got back to the house and relaxed for the rest of the afternoon. We had left overs for dinner and vegged for the rest of the day. It had been a long week.