Seems we are staying right where we are

We woke up to flights suspended by Emirates. It meant we would stay for a good bit longer in Arizona. We were both exhausted from our first day of online learning, but we forged through as best as we could.  We watched church on television and then worked on our lessons for Sunday evening. Around 11 am we decided to go to Ken and Maytee’s for lunch. We ended up staying for several hours. It was good to see them, even though we had just been with them a little over a week earlier. 

We returned to Grammie and Pop’s for dinner of refrigerator soup, which means you dump everything you can find in the fridge and put it in a pot for soup. I loved it. Millie ate parts of it, but mainly concentrated on the corn bread. 

We started our second night of lessons and it seemed there were less questions and less confusion, which is what made it easier to go to bed a bit earlier than I should have. I woke up to lessons that needed checking and then decided to continue on and start to make lessons for Monday evening and the following week. I would guess we will do this Distant Learning for the rest of the year, but won’t know for sure for a while. 

When I was up for good on Monday morning, I went for a walk with my dear friend Sue Tharalson. We practiced social distancing and gave a virtual hug when we saw each other. It was so good to catch up with her. It seems this whole virus thing is going to really stall my social life. 

Such a good hour we had together, just walking and talking. 

I went to Wal Mart after our walk and got some jeans and a pair of leggings, amongst some other items. I hadn’t brought a lot of long pants this trip so I needed to get the jeans for sure. It is much cooler in Arizona than I remember it being in Marchs of the past. I stopped at Dutch Bros. for a coffee for Stuart and myself and then headed home. The kids had been on a bike ride with Stuart, and after a bite of lunch I took them to the park for some basketball and play structure climbing. Grammie and Pop joined, but Stuart decided to stay and have a rest at the house. 

When we got back to the house from the park, we sat out on the porch and Stuart called Emirates. It seems that they were convinced they would not be flying to the UAE until the end of April. This is definitely not what we had planned, but it will all be fine in the end and we know that in our hearts. 

We started our third night of online teaching. It seemed to go rather well as there were fewer questions and confusion. We are using that as a sign that parents are getting it and things are clear to them. Tuesday morning, once we were all awake, we tried to find our new normal. We went to get enrollment packets for Jack and Millie at Riggs Elementary. When school begins we want them to be enrolled. Jan Weyenberg, the principal, brought the paperwork out to us and we were on our way. 

When we got up Tuesday morning we did decide that our dinners needed to stop and our big meal of the day needed to be lunch from now on. That was our big decision of the day.  Millie just can’t keep it together in the evening and really needs to eat by 5 pm in order to be in bed by 7 pm. She can stay up later, but after 6 pm she won’t eat. The struggle is real. So for lunch we had chicken strips, potatoes and broccoli and she ate a ton. We spent the rest of the day preparing for lessons, checking assignments, going to the park for basketball and the like, and watching television. 

Our online teaching was a bit less intrusive late Tuesday/early Wednesday, however, we did have a team meeting on Wednesday at 3 am my time, which was 2 pm in the UAE. In the meeting we decided what we would be doing for the following week and tried to come to a more concise way of presenting things. During our meeting I was told by my team leader that he was asked to have me produce evidence that I was actually working while out of the country. Most team leaders would have simply sent forward the evidence and not even ask me to produce the evidence myself. I was the person who put together our lesson plans for this Distant Learning, for goodness sake. At any rate, I have never felt he was much of a leader. And now I only have to deal with him from afar, so it’s all good. 

Since I got virtually no sleep on Tuesday night, I was super tired and maybe a bit cranky on Wednesday. Stuart and I took Millie and went to Wal Mart Wednesday morning. We bought a dry erase board for Stuart and myself to use in our lessons next week. We also bought some sidewalk chalk to entertain the kids.  We also decided that this online schooling is way more work than actually being in school. 

When we got the sidewalk chalk opened, I went to the bathroom and left Millie to her own devices. This was clearly not the best decision as by the time I got out Millie had drawn a dog......right on the front sidewalk where everyone walks in the front door. 

The dog!

I then directed her to the sidewalk in front of the house where no one would be walking. Her masterpieces were phenomenal. 

Everyone was involved. 

The flowers were the beginning. 

This was drawn for Millie’s bestie in Al Ain. 

After the chalk fun, I decided I needed a nap.  The rest of the crew went to the park and I laid down to sleep for about an hour and a half. 

Stuart and I geared up for one more night of learning and then the weekend would be upon us. In the meantime, we had taxes to prepare, enrollment forms to fill out for the kids and the other daily chores to do. The kids went to bed at a reasonable time and online learning commenced. 

I didn’t do much online support on Wednesday evening as no one asked questions. I do think as the parents and children get used to this idea of Distant Learning, there will be fewer and fewer questions. 

Thursday morning waking up was a relief. We did do some approving of assignments Thursday morning, but then committed to be done by mid morning. We decided to pack up a picnic and head to Saguaro Lake for lunch. Well, of course all the national parks are closed, so we ended up stopping by the side of the road and throwing out our picnic blanket just for the sake of saying we did it. Grammie and I were the only two that sat on the blanket. Everyone else ate in the car. 

Car picnicking. 

On the blanket. 

We had packed up the car and forgot to take a selfie of the beautiful desert. 

We got home and just piddled around. We ate leftovers for supper and then played cards. We laughed and laughed and laughed. Millie has no poker face. 

Millie was helping Pop. 

And Jack was looking at Grammie’s hand. Cheater!

Friday morning we had had a wonderful nights sleep. Millie slept nearly 13 hours. Hallelujah!!!!! Stuart and I have the opportunity to speak to the head of elementary human resource department in Chandler Unified a School District. It was all we hoped it would be. I also was informed that I would have a screening interview for an assistant principal position in CUSD, which thrilled me. The day was starting out right. 

We took Jack to his wellness visit, where he had to get three shots. He wasn’t terribly happy about the shots, but he doesn’t need anymore until he is 16 years old, and now he is all set for school. After his appointment we headed to Riggs Elementary to turn in all of the kids’ paperwork for school. Of course there was a form we still needed to turn in, and naturally it had to be notarized. We decided we would get it taken care of next week. 

We stopped by Wal Mart on the way home to get some necessities. When we got to Wal Mart the parking lot was heaving, which made us decide that would be the last time we would go to Wal Mart for a while. It seems that people took this Covid-19 seriously the first few days and a week into it they have dropped their guards. There is no need to test fate, in our opinion. 

The rest of the day was spent on the back porch, with our looms, knitting our new hats and scarves. Millie was super keen. Of course she has chosen a hat as her project and her head is tiny, so she should be done pretty quickly. Whereas my project is a scarf for myself. We shall see how long I stick to this new craft. 

In the evening, we all ate what we liked, the kids took showers, and we played cards again. It was great fun! After the kids were in bed, Stuart, Mom, Dad and I sat at the table and told old stories. We laughed and laughed at a bunch of nothing. It was great fun!

Saturday morning I got up just after 5 am and started in on my lessons for the week. Stuart had recorded a video, for the children in Year 5, along with his team via Google Hangouts. It was a rock star theme as we were embarking on a Times Table Rock Star challenge for the week with our students. Of course, not to be outdone, I made my kids do a Tik Tok of me with the Beetles song ‘I wanna hold your hand’. They put a filter on me with a beard and glasses so I looked like John Lennon. It was awesome and I can’t wait to hear the reaction of my students. 

We had lunch and watched a sermon from Woodland Hills church in Branson, Missouri. Then the kids went off to their respective rooms and watched Netflix. We sat in the living room, contemplating what to do next around 3 pm. We decided to go to the park for a basketball shoot around. Pop coached Jack, while Millie, Stuart and I played ‘horse’. I lost, of course. 

Once we were back home, we had a bite to eat and then played our habitual evening round of cards; first Uno and then Old Maid. Millie is at her best during these games. She cheats and we all crack up. Once she was in bed, we went out to view the crescent moon as well as Venus. I heard Millie from in her room, yell ‘all the fun things happen when I go to bed’.  So I went and picked her up to come outside. At this stage, who cares if she’s in bed at the time we deem appropriate. This virus has made us reevaluate what is important in life. Routines are good, but not a live or die thing to us. Right after she went back to bed, she fell straight asleep. Easy! Jack followed shortly after and Stuart and I started our second week of Distant Learning. The first night of the second week started out really well. It seemed much easier than last week already. 

Time will tell how long this Distant Learning will last. Things are really gearing up here and it seems things might get worse before they get better. We are just going to take one day at a time and enjoy every minute with each other and the kids. Life is too short not to, as we are starting to see. 

The Covid 19 has picked up speed, as well as publicity.

By Sunday morning we still hadn’t made up our minds as to what to do about flights. There were many factors to consider. 1) Stuart still had to come back to the states before June in order to maintain his US resident status, 2) We remained sure that sending the kids home was the right decision because, should this situation go on into the next school year, we wanted them where we would eventually be, 3) We needed to get to Arizona in order to secure jobs for the next school year. I skyped my mom and dad and their advice was to do what was best for the four of us. So, we did just that and booked flights to leave on Wednesday morning, returning on April 3, but just Stuart and myself. I had a good cry about it all, but still felt secure we were doing what is best. 

We went to school for a bit to work on the Distant Learning plan. I felt very secure about the plan I had made and was just hoping my team had done the same. We stopped to get some laundry softener on the way home. We got home and started packing some more. We weeded out some more of Millie’s toys and put them on swap and shop. They sold

Immediately. 

Tommy, Alice and Kalina came over for  a play date. This kept the kids occupied while we frantically packed our stuff. We had a committee meeting at the club to discuss what activities we had planned for April that would most likely not take place. Tommy and Alice ended up having a sleepover. Joan and Gene dropped some things off for them and then we all agreed our kids would spend the night at theirs the following night, which would be every helpful to us. Cathy has come over and gone to the club with us. She also returned to the house for a chat before heading home. She was very sad for me that we were leaving both kids. I had settled on leaving Jack, but still needed to process leaving Millie. 

Millie is quite possibly the oldest child in her class, yet the smallest. These are her besties. 

We got up on Monday morning and started our packing again.  We delivered some items to some neighbors that bought some stuff. The futon that Millie had slept on was one of the items. When I was stripping the bed, I discovered that the tooth she had pulled (or the one that had rotted out) on Sunday night was still under the pillow. Epic fail! I rushed to get some money and then had her come up to help me strip the bed. She then found the money. She and Alice both commented that ‘she’ must have come after they got up because the tooth was still there when they had checked just after they woke up. Oops! 

We sat down for a breather and waited for some other people to show up and pick up purchased items. The news continued to spread the glum news of shut downs across the world. We continued to pray our flight on Wednesday morning would still go. Monday evening, after all bags were packed, we went to Brian and Lara’s for a bit and then Cathy and Tiff came over. We decided to order pizza, which we never do. It was actually good pizza. Cathy and Tiff left just before midnight and we went to bed. 

Tuesday morning we got up and the house seemed strangely quiet. The kids had spent the night with Tommy and Alice. A double sleepover never happens! I worked on my plans for Distant Learning and felt I had a good handle on it. My first week of e-learning was ready to roll out. Going back to Arizona during this time will definitely prove to be a challenge. 

Our cleaning lady came around 10 am. Then we realized she didn’t need to be there as she would be staying with the animals for the time we were in Arizona, so she would be able to clean the house during those weeks. I ended up taking her home and then I went on to the club for Jack and Millie’s going away party. 

Although it was a gathering, the kids were outdoors and having a ball. We ordered pizza and fries for everyone. They all played for a few hours and then the time for the kids to part was upon us. Millie cried and cried when Alice left. She was so upset. Jack didn’t really get upset as Louie came home with us for a few hours. Millie ended up hanging out at Islay’s house until about 5:30 pm, when Cathy came over to babysit and Tiff, Stuart and myself went to the Year 5 gathering. Stuart’s team leader is also the wife of our Head of Junior School. We had a wonderful meal and fantastic conversation. We headed home around 11 pm, got to bed and then the alarm went off at 3 am. Ugh!

Cathy drove us to the airport. Cathy cried when she left the kids, and Millie did as well. I was still a bit apprehensive going through the airport. We had to go through a temperature screening in order to go to our gate. But once we got to the gate, we just went through and boarded the plane. It’s seemed relatively easy. The flight was packed. 

And we were off for a 16 hour flight to LAX. 

The flight was full. It was pretty uneventful as far as flights go. I watched several films I hadn’t seen before, which was a bonus. The kids watched movies, slept and ate at the appropriate times. When we landed at LAX none of us knew what to expect. Because the UAE is not one of the countries on the ‘isolate yourself for 14 days’ list, we were just told to be safe. The total process from customs to baggage to the rental car only took and hour and a half, which is unheard of at LAX. 

Once we had the car and were on the road, we were keenly aware that maybe driving wasn’t that great of an idea.  I had said I would drive, but definitely found myself dozing as a passenger. We stopped to drive through and get food, due to everything being shut. Restaurants were serving through the drive-thru but there was no dine-in. We cruised along until just after the town of Blythe, when we hit a delay. There had been a fatality heading in the same direction. Darkness had engulfed our journey and it had started to rain. Staying awake and concentrating was quite difficult. 

Once we had passed the accident, we still had a long way to travel. The kids were troopers, but we were pretty sure jetlag would be in our future. We finally pulled into the car lot, known as my parents house, at 11:15 pm. My mom and I cried. This situation is very overwhelming. Then add the fact that the news came out and said no residence would be able to return to the UAE for at least the next two weeks, and you have yourself some very emotional people. 

We were greeted by Grammie, Pop, Russ, my oldest brother, Morgan, my niece, and Donovan, her fiancé who had been in Arizona for baseball spring training. He is in the minor leagues with the Kansas City Royals. It was a wonderful greeting, as they were standing in the garage, it was dark and raining. My dad helped Stuart unload all 8 of our ‘at weight limit’ bags from the Suburban we had hired at LAX. That car was a monster. We went inside and had some sandwiches. The kids had slept in the car, but getting them in a routine would be the best thing we could do to avoid jetlag. So they showered after they had a bite to eat and then they went to bed. My mom’s house is not quite big enough for the nine people who were there, but she figured it out. We had a bedroom, as did Donovan and the kids shared a room. Russ slept in a blow up mattress just in the dining room and Morgan slept on the sofa. 

We didn’t end up going to bed until after 2 am. I woke up at 5 am as did Millie. Jack was awake by 6 and so was Stuart. We had to just keep quiet until everyone was awake. Grammie came into the kids’ room, who were on their devices, and had the kids come into her room and wake up Pop. At that point Stuart and I decided we would head to Wal Mart to get some needed items like hangers, small storage bins for our toiletries under the sink, and flavored coffee creamer.  The essentials in life cannot be ignored. 

We decided to stop and try to get SIM cards for our phones, but nothing was open. We went back to the house and continued to unpack our things. I needed to figure out what else we would need to live in the house with my mom and dad for the next year. It was definitely going to be cozy, but an adventure. Around noon, Russ took us to take the rental car back to the airport. I rode with Russ. We had a good, deep conversation about the Coronavirus situation and it’s effects on all of us for the long term. Obviously, none of us knows the effects, so the world is unsettled at the moment. We went totally against the advice of authorities and traveled outside of the country in efforts to get back ‘home’. Stuart had to get back to the United States because of his green card and we wanted the kids home for the last quarter of the year. But it was starting to look like going back to the UAE would be a long way away. 

Once we collected Stuart, we stopped at Target to try to find some little hangers for Millie’s clothes. In the meantime my mom has found the perfect ones. After striking out at Target, we went to get a SIM card for our phones only to discover that Stuart’s relatively new iPhone 11 Pro was a model that was not comparable in the states. Lovely! So I was the only one who ended up with a SIM card. Jack was thrilled as he was told he would get my SIM card when, and if, we returned to the UAE. 

I continued to unpack, make calls to get our cars insured, rearrange doctor appointments for the kids and appointments for ourselves. It was like a ghost town around the neighborhood. There was a strange feeling in the air. It was as if no one knew what to do. I had contacted some friends who had decided, and rightfully so, that this wasn’t the time to get together. The fear is not that this virus will kill people, we all know that will happen as do all viruses. The fear is the rate at which it has infected people and that the health care system is being strained by COVID19 as well as all of the other issues with health. By social distancing we can possibly help this thing to even out. 

Morgan and Donavin were great playing with the kids in the afternoon. We all decided to go to the park and shoot hoops as well as play our own little game of whiffle ball. Donovan was the pitcher, of course. We played for a little over and hour. 

It was a lovely day and we were about the only people at the park. 

After dinner, Morgan got a kick out of my humorous little hands. 

Once we were home, I struggled to keep my kids awake. I had them shower around 6:30 and then they ate. They both went back to their beds after eating and Jack put himself to bed at about 7:30, which is highly unusual. Jet lag had set it, maybe for all of us. I just prayed they would sleep through the night and get a normal body clock going on Friday. 

Stuart and I went to bed at 9 pm and I was awake by 1 am. I decided to get up and do some more work on my online plans. It’s tough to think about what needs to be done for an entire week. Then I wanted to plan realistic things in order to have all children access the work. I went back to sleep around 4:30 am and slept until about 6:30 am. The kids were awake around 3 am, but just watched their iPads so it didn’t bother me much. 

Once we were up and around, we said goodbye to Donavin and Morgan, as they were off to Arkansas. We then had some breakfast and headed to the playground. It seems outdoor activities are acceptable during this time of crisis. The kids played ball for a while and I sat and talked with Grammie, while Pop and Uncle Russ coaches Jack. 

I did some more organizing and we went out and bought a few needed items for the kids’ bedrooms. We had a bite to eat before venturing out into the great unknown. Once we returned from our Target run, we went back to the park. Okay, I’m pretty sure the kids will let anyone take them to that park at any given time of the day. Jack was instructed in basketball and Millie shot and kicked a playground ball around. 

We had fajitas for dinner and then the kids hit the sack. They are still a bit jetlagged, so they nearly put themselves to bed. We stayed up and watched the game show channel. Who knew this existed? Stuart went to bed a bit early, but I made it, asleep on the sofa of course, until 10 pm. I still woke up at 1 am for a few hours, and Stuart was up by 4 am watching the Walking Dead. 

Saturday morning I hit a bit of a panic as I thought I hadn’t sent the QR codes for the online teaching that would start for us at 9 pm Saturday evening. In the end, I realized I had actually sent them home the Thursday we broke up from school. Whew! 

Most of the day, Stuart and I worked on our presentations for a while and then we decided to go to our storage unit, as Stuart had to find our filing cabinet that had his social security card in it. He needed that to renew his expired driving license. 

After the storage unit we swung by the house to get Jack and Pop. We decided to go find bikes for the kids. We went to Target and Wal Mart. Of course Millie wanted one at Target and Jack wanted one at Wal Mart. Once we were home with the bikes the kids wanted to ride them down to the park. 

The new bikes!

Millie met a little friend there who was 3 years younger than she was, but just about as big. Jack just wanted to practice his basketball skills. Russ left around 5 pm then I organized Jack’s room as he was going to be staying in the room Russ had slept in. Stuart sat up his PS4, which thrilled him. He had two friends from the UAE who had sent him an Amazon gift card. So with that money, he was able to buy a small television. He was able to play some games with his friends in the UAE on Saturday. 

With the kids not being able to go to school at the moment, this social time with family has been great. Millie will start online work next week because her teachers have not deleted her from the programs. But Jack will have to rely on all of us to supply work for him until we leave, and then it will be up to Grammie and Pop. 

When Pop got home from the airport, we had dinner. Both kids were about to fall asleep in their meal. Jack ended up showering after dinner and then putting himself to bed around 8 pm. Millie fell asleep on the sofa directly after we ate. Poor kids are still suffering a bit. 

Stuart and I made some videos for the kids for their lessons and explained how the activities would work. It was all going to be a bit of an experiment, I’m afraid. We started our online activities before 9 pm, which was before 8 am UAE time on Sunday. We had a number of questions and a lot of confused people. But I feel I answered questions as best as I could. I stayed up until nearly 1 am, but Stuart was up later than I was. I’m hoping we aren’t doing this each evening, but it’s possible as we still have a job to do. Time will tell, I suppose. 

As we move into our new week, I reflect on what we have learned from the Covid19 virus to date. First of all, we can live without sporting events on a large scale. It is possible to stay home and spend time with your family without killing each other. And, there are people who love to panic for the sake of panicking. The virus is serious and we must use precautions, but we must also be realistic about living our lives and being sensible. This too shall pass, and hopefully sooner than later as not to do a great deal of damage on society as a whole, both physically and financially. Everyone continue to wash your filthy hands and don’t lick the Wal Mart counter tops. 

The week of panic

The Greens were to arrive late Sunday evening. All we did on Sunday was clean, sort, throw away, sell and sell. It was a bit of a rushed day. Stuart left for the airport around 8 pm. I had just gotten back from collecting Millie from a play date at her friend Ciara’s house. The kids showered, but wanted to stay up and greet Lexi and Gigi when they arrived. 

Monday we got up and left the house close to 10 am. We were heading to the Burj Khalifa. We made a stop for donuts just before going up to the top. 

At the top!

After going to the 124th floor we came down and ate lunch. We then went to the high end shops which none of us could afford. We were going to drive around Dubai, but decided against it as we had already walked for several hours. Everyone was tired. When we got back to Al Ain Stuart went to the club for a kit meeting. We stayed home and ordered food from 101, our local Arabic restaurant. 

Tuesday morning we got up and went to the Louvre in Abu Dhabi. 

This Louvre is not as big as the one in Paris, but it was still quite impressive. We went through it quickly, which is how I like to visit museums. 

The founding father!

We ate lunch at an amazing cafe and then headed to the Mosque. We didn’t have much time at all and it might have caused a bit of a domestic argument for Stuart and myself. Because our safari got changed to 4:30, we had to make a mad dash through the mosque, but we managed. 

The sun was very bright. 

Once we left the mosque we headed to the desert. We hadn’t been on a desert safari since our first year in the UAE. The kids were tiny and hardly even remembered it. I wasn’t looking forward to it as our last experience wasn’t great. Our first safari took us on a bus for about 45 minutes and then we went out into the desert. But this safari was different. We drove right to the spot where the desert vehicle took us dune bashing. It was an amazing experience and so fun to do with our friends. 

This was one of the SUVs that was driving with us. 

Sand boarding was a hit. 

The girls got henna. 

The kids on the dunes ar sunset. 

The kids dressed in traditional Emarati dress and Jack held the falcon.  

Belly dancing was the entertainment. 

Wednesday we had a bit of a sleep in. We went to the Al Ain Oasis and Al Ain Palace Museum. 

The canal system in the UAE is very similar to Arizona. 

Maryum was our guide for the Al Ain Oasis. She was incredible and so sweet. After we had visited the fort she drove past us and got out of her car to give Gigi and Lexi a bag of henna. It was above and beyond the call of duty for sure. She was so sweet. 

This is the Al Nahyan family tree. Considering there are 19 boys and 11 girls to one father, it’s unreal this tree can actually be constructed. 

We were able to see all of these places because Ken has a friend who knows the head of tourism in Abu Dhabi who got us a personal guide. We felt like VIPs. It was amazing.

After we left the Al Ain Palace Museum, we went to eat lunch at Off the Hook. Afterwards, we went to Al Jahili Fort, which we had never been to. Maytee didn’t feel so well so she stayed in the car. The fort was an equally impressive tour and we really enjoyed the tour guide. 

Al Jahili Fort was used to protect the oasis. 

We then went to Qasr Al Muwaji, another oasis we hadn’t visited before. 

This fort was where the current ruler of Al Ain, Shaikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nayhan was born. 

The day was an exhausting one, but there was still fun to be had. We were home for a little over and hour and then went to the club for dinner and quiz night. What a laugh that was! We met up with a lot of friends. With all the Covid19 scare, people are not gathering as much, so we were thrilled to see all our friends and have Ken and Maytee see our social hang out for the past 6 and a half years. We even won a few prizes. 

Thursday morning we got up and headed to Atlantis. We spent the afternoon at the park and then had a casual dinner at the Wavehouse, which was just attached to the park. 

Friday morning, the news was starting to unfold all of the plans for flights in and out of the United States. Our flights were not to take place until March 26th. The US government had already announced that those who were traveling through Europe back to the United States would be required to self- quarantine for 14 days. This news was what awoke Ken that morning.  He had been up since before 6 am trying to sort out new tickets for the four of them. Around 9 am he did just that and they were on their way again. However, since they were traveling through Europe they would still be required to self-quarantine once they returned to the states. The world seems to have turned upside down. 

We went to the water park for a couple of hours and then headed to Gordon Ramsey’s Bread Street Kitchen for a brunch. The food was amazing. The kids were still at the water park and checked in with us every half hour. We were within spitting distance of them the entire afternoon. GiGi is nearly 14, so we left her in charge. They had a great time. Friday evening we got food to take to the room and the kids showered, ate and relaxed. They had been running through the park all day. We also informed Millie that she too would be staying with Grammie and Pop once we returned to the UAE. It was a tough decision, but we knew it was the right one. 

Saturday morning we got to thinking we should just cancel our flights and rebook them for a different date, but when? We were warned that if we left the country we ran the risk of being docked pay or not getting back in. 

We went on with our day the best we could. We spent the majority of the day at the pool or the park. We went back to the park to ride the family rides, which were fun. We ordered food by the pool, but ended up taking it up to the room as we had been granted the pleasure of having a late check out at Atlantis. 

We left the hotel about 4 pm, by the time we got totally checked out and pictures of the scenery. 

This was our last time as a family at Atlantis, and what a great trip it was. 

The Frame. 

We headed down to take some pictures of the Burj Al Arab and then the Dubai Frame. We then headed to Dubai Mall. We had reservations at the Social House, a place where you can watch the fountains and have a lovely meal. Before dinner, we went into the Souq and Len bought some gifts for a few people. 

We then had a wonderful meal that Ken paid for, which was too kind and generous for sure. We walked around until just before 10 pm and then had a coffee at Costa. This way we were able to site down for a bit. We needed to waste some time because they couldn’t even check their bags into the airline until 11. 

When we got to the airport we had to park in order to help them with the bags. We had sent 4 bags with them, which would definitely prove to be helpful for us, especially now that the kids would be staying for good in Arizona. 

The week was amazing! Although the semi-panic was a bit worrisome, and we still didn’t know what we were going to do as far as travel was concerned, this time with Ken, Maytee, Gigi and Lexi was invaluable. It was an incredible trip for them and for us. Time will tell what this next week will bring. 

The week of changes

Jack woke up and didn’t want to go to school as he didn’t feel well. This seems to be the trend on Sundays the last couple of weeks. We forced him to get up and go. By the time we reached the school he seemed totally fine. We have told him he only has a few more Sundays to wake up and go to school here. He is very excited to come back to Arizona. 

Tommy and Alice came home with us after school. The kids haven’t had a play date with them in forever. It was good to have them over and watch the kids be kids. I made them sausages and potatoes and then took them home around 7:30. 

This is the result of letting 8 year olds paint their nails without supervision. 

Monday morning there was more panic regarding the Corona Virus. It was rumored that schools were being trained to go to remote learning by the end of the week. Is this panic totally necessary or a bit over the top? I suppose time will tell. 

Because of the information sent out by the health authority, all activities after school have ceased until further notice. This would be totally fine with me as it means we will have more time at home and with the kids. Our rushing about will come to a halt for a bit. We went home straight after school and got ready to go to the rugby club for the kids last run around to conclude the rugby season. I met with the club house manager to discuss logistics of the rugby ball while the kids trained. Then at 6 pm, we provided pizza and drinks for the kids. 

These boys have been a great part of Jack’s life in the UAE. Many of them have been on his team for 7 years. He will miss this part of his life in the UAE. 

Cathy came out with us as she needed some cheering up. She was told on Sunday that she has a degenerative lung disease that will impact her quality of life, and may one day result in her needing a lung transplant. She was upset, as you would guess. When she told me in the staff room earlier in the day, I was shocked and speechless. 

Tuesday morning, one of the private schools got confirmation that they would need to have lesson plans ready for the next 6 weeks as they would be teaching remotely for that amount of time. It was just a matter of time until we were told the same. 

After school the people who bought Millie’s bed came and got Millie’s bed. My friend Ang bought all of Jack’s Lego. She came to pick them up and stayed for a chat and a cup of tea. The evening was a bit dull. We had dinner and then everyone went to bed. 

Wednesday the country’s newspaper announced schools would be closed for a month. We weren’t exactly sure what this meant to us, but it was an absolute cluster for all. We are three weeks away from our spring break, people have booked flights and holidays, and now they are telling us we may be moving our spring break up two weeks and starting it on Sunday, then after two weeks we will be doing distant learning. The whole thing is a mess!

When I got home from school, I went to help DeDe move. Her husband left her last spring and then did a runner in November. This has been a very stressful 12 months for her. On top of him leaving the country, he left her with no place to live. Thank goodness she sorted everything out, but it did mean she had to move from the Village. She moved into Cathy’s old place. 

Thursday at school we got the news that we would be working to prepare for online teaching for the next two weeks and then start delivery on March 22. Then that would mean our spring break was postponed, or canceled. We had a meeting after school and were told the company strongly urged us to not leave the country. Well, that was not going to work for us. We had some serious decisions to make. 

Thursday evening we had people over so we could commiserate about the situation at school. Stuart made nachos for dinner and then other friends joined later in the evening. It was one of those fun, impromptu evenings. 

Friday morning we got up and lazed around the house. We decided to go to the pool around 3 pm. We met up with the Rouvis and the Karniks. The kids ate dinner by the pool and we all griped about our lot in life. However, being guaranteed a four week break from school is not bad, and we still get paid. 

Friday evening was spent clearing out my closet and trying to sort through what we would pack for Ken and Maytee to take back to Arizona. I slept, or didn’t sleep, on the sofa for the entire night. I had pulled a muscle in my shoulder on Friday morning, bringing one of our dressers downstairs. I couldn’t sleep. 

Saturday was our packing, cleaning, and selling day. We spent a little time lounging around, but mainly just organized and sold stuff on Facebook. We still had a lot to do before Ken and Maytee arrived. I’m already tired. However, we were excited to know we got to spend the entire week with the Greens. Yahoo! 

I’m officially old

Sunday we were up and out of the house with very little fuss from either of the kids. School started and I got a call about Jack being kicked in the foot. He said he needed me to come to the senior school. I told him to get over himself and go back to class. At break time I went over to see Jack. When I arrived there were two adults, seemingly on duty, who had the backs to the majority of children, all of which are boys. They did not see me, no one did. I watched Jack and his buddies playing basketball. Jack finally went over, after asking some boys three times, to report that some older kids were interfering in their game. The teacher came over and said something to the boys who were being a pain. I then introduced myself. The teacher looked shocked. It gave me one more piece of evidence that my child’s safeguarding is not being done at the school. 

After school Jack needed me to know something that had happened during the lunch time. Basically, a scuffle broke out which resulted in Jack being nearly chocked. He told me he was so scared as he couldn’t breath. He had reported it and because the head of Pastoral care didn’t have time to look into it, he failed to even call me and say he would be looking into and getting back to me. They are way more reactive than proactive, that’s for sure.  I emailed him and found out he would be looking into it and message me the next day to let me know what time he could meet with us.

Sunday after school we came home and did nothing. The kids were perfectly satisfied with pasta and butter as well as peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. We have been running ragged for a while now so some down time was nice. 

Stuart’s flight was delayed coming back from the UK. He ended up getting home Monday morning at 3:50 am. He went to bed and I got up about 45 minutes later to walk with Lara, except she messaged me to tell me she hadn’t slept much so wouldn’t be going with me. I decided I was already dressed so might as well go out for a jog/walk before school. 

I didn’t hear from OBH (head of Pastoral) and ended up emailing him just after lunch. But naturally he was too busy to meet with us. So we saw Jack’s House Master. He explained the situation and that the children involved had been dealt with. That wasn’t good enough for me as I found out from a senior school teacher that the boy who had Jack in a choke hold was not given a consequence. It seems they are intimidated by his father. Awesome! I ended up writing  a letter explaining my concerns for my son’s safety. I sent it to OBH. I told Stuart we have nothing to lose now. This school doesn’t keep my boy, or other boys, safe and I’m tired of it. If they will not be diligent about his safety then I will be forced to take things into my own hands. I have said I will go to the senior school at least once a week from now on to make sure Jack is okay. 

Millie had swim squad after school. Once she was finished, we came home, got ready, and went to rugby.  Stuart slept for a couple of hours and then went to his rugby training. His last match of the season (and probably his career) is Friday. The kids were in bed when he got home. I was watching trash television, which is my usual. 

Tuesday my year group had a field trip to the zoo. Jack called me twice as he had broken one of his brackets off. I finally told him I wasn’t capable of doing anything for him as I was at the zoo. So once school was over, we went to the orthodontist and he actually had them tightened. We got home to a houseful of people, well, just Tiff and Cathy. They had come over for Pancake Day, celebrated by the Brits.

It’s also known as Shrove Tuesday, and is followed by Ash Wednesday, the first day of lent. Stuart made sausages and chips for the kids, and then everyone had pancakes, but more like crepes. The ladies left after they were nice and full. The kids went to bed and Stuart and I followed shortly. 

Wednesday Lara and I walked again. She had actually gotten up with me for the Tuesday walk as well. School was non eventful, as it’s come to be. I’m just always trying to keep up with my marking and lesson planning. After school the kids had an athletics competition. Both did really well. We then brought Louie with us from school to meet his mum at the club. The weather wasn’t terribly good. There was sand blowing everywhere. The girls’ team called practice off, but the boys’ team decided to leave it up to the parents. About half of Jack’s team showed up and just played a match on their own. It was really good to see them manage themselves so well. They are a good bunch of boys. Jack will definitely miss them. 

Thursday, when we left the house, I had to be packed and ready to leave for Dubai right after school. A bunch of ladies from school were traveling to stay the night and go to the Jazz Festival. We were going to see Lionel Richie in concert. We were all so excited. At school we had a science team come in for some demonstrations for the children. It was interesting, but a bit too child-like for the older students. I had to meet with someone from Apple to show me how to become and Apple Teacher. Ugh! I’m such an old dog that new tricks are really frustrating. I was cranky about it, but did it anyway. The lady who helped me, reported that I was angry and yelled at her. Ha! What a joke! 

At any rate, I left that day a bit irritated, but my friends whacked me out of it too soon. We arrived in Dubai around 5:00 pm and went to our penthouse apartment that was amazing!

Our view happened to be the Dubai Media Centre which was where Lionel was performing. It was perfect. 

This was our penthouse pool, but I will admit it was freezing cold. Oh, I still had a dip on Friday morning just simply because it was there. 

He was as amazing as ever, a bit weathered, but an incredible performer. 

These were the ladies I shared this fun night with. The one in the front is 20 years younger than myself, which would explain why she carried the party elsewhere after Lionel performed. Needless to say, I headed back to the apartment for the rest of the evening. Those days of energy are behind me. 

Friday morning we all got up and headed our own ways. Cathy and I went to watch Stuart play his last rugby match ever. He played so well. I was so proud of him. He was the captain and made an amazing speech just celebrating his team and his years playing here in Al Ain. 

The pitch!

Before the speech. 

The kiss after the speech. 

Cathy and I came back to Al Ain and Stuart rode the bus back with the team. He arrived not long after I got home. Then it was time for bed. Jack was at a sleepover and Millie was staying with our babysitter Carly. 

Saturday morning I got up and met Jack and his friend at a fun run at the club. Afterward Jack wanted to come home. He wasn’t feeling 100% so we went home and he chilled out for the rest of the day. Millie went to play at her friend Islay’s and I laid on the sofa. I started felling horrible. With the treat of the Corona Virus, we all decided staying home was the best. The press may be going a bit over board. Saturday, the health department in Dubai put out a memo about all external trips from school and any activities that gather a large amount of people should be canceled. So it was decided to cancel the Al Ain rugby tournament that was to take place the weekend of March 6 and 7. I thought this was going to be disappointing to Jack. However, when I told him I had some news for him that might upset him, he asked if we had decided not to let him go home to stay with Grammie and Pop. I said, ‘No!’ So then when I told him the tournament was canceled, he said, ‘So.’  He is SO ready to come back to Arizona. 

This was after his run. 

The rest of the day was totally chilled. Stuart made spaghetti cheese for dinner and we watched a couple of movies. Then, because I wasn’t feeling well, we both went to bed. What a week!