An interesting side-effect of residing temporarily in a city is that you want to do and experience as much as possible in the short time available. Giving in to that inclination (as we often do) leads to fewer “normal” days than, well, normal life at “home.”
Thus, after a couple weeks with school holidays, sicknesses, a vacation, and several group dinners, it was a relief that today was typical for the kids and me. For starters, everyone was healthy with Tracy nearly recovered from a cold. Catherine had dance and chess clubs after school. Mark was at school doing independent work in maths, ICT, and chemistry while his peers take IGCSE exams. And, homework was accomplished by both in the afternoon and evening. Tracy visited two internship sites and picked Amy, the upcoming director of Calvin’s program in 2017, from the airport. I had three teleconferences: one for the upcoming course I will teach in South Africa, one for a programming project, and one for a paper. In between, I did a little writing, a little calculating, and a little programming.
There is comfort in routine.
—Matt
