These things occurred on Thursday August 29, 2024 in Prague, Czechia
Our second day of school started well. The twins were up and ready to go by 8:00AM, but Eitan had slept horribly and Amichai was tired. The perk of homeschooling, with no commute along with scheduling excursions on a day-by-day basis, meant that the boys could sleep in a little and I could adjust our schedule to meet the boys’ individual needs. It also meant that I was able to respond in a much calmer and more empathetic way than I usually do when we’re running late for school. Remarkably, all of the boys were still ready for our 9:20AM announcements.
Our excursion plan for the day changed due to the weather report. A a severe thunderstorm warning had been issued saying that thunderstorms could occur at any moment from 12:00PM-9:00PM. I believed this was a legit storm watch because our Airbnb host even texted me to make sure we’d closed the balcony windows. How was I supposed to plan around a nine-hour thunderstorm watch? The storm never came. Instead it was a sweltering day at ninety-two degrees outside with minimal to no airflow inside. The boys didn’t seem to mind a bit.
When it was obvious a storm would not be coming and all schoolwork had been completed for the day, we walked three minutes to a small park around the corner. Prior to visiting Europe I was unaware that parks are not playgrounds here. Finding places for the boys to play had become a mission and I was hopeful this would prove good enough lest the weather change.
This park was a smaller space, more like a small city square, in between two streets. Adorned with statues of horses and a row of trees on both sides the space included a 20-25 meter long water feature with varying stones, pebbles, sculptures, and bridges inside or across it. The water was shallow and looked clean, enough. I doubt it was meant for people to walk in, but we saw other children playing inside. The boys took off their socks and shoes and proceeded to create obstacle courses and other creative games for them to play inside the water. Amichai and Eitan also used the time to practice heir Tae Kwan Do forms. Their technique was very impressive given they’ve barely practiced during the last month.
After the park we went to Alberts, the grocery store. We would frequent this store anywhere from 1-2 times daily for the next three weeks because milk was only sold in single liters. Our family easily uses anywhere from 2-3 liters in a day! Plus, we didn’t have so many snacks in the house because I was nervous about over-shopping and ending up with too much food at the end of our stay. Due to our lack of snacks, the boys consumed a much healthier amount of fruit and vegetables throughout the day, which meant running back to the store multiple times to restock on those as well.
That night I had planned to catch up on my travel logging because I was falling very behind. The boys had a different plan for me. Everyone struggled with bedtime. Shai and Matanel both wanted me to lie down in their beds until they fell asleep. Poor Eitan had an earache and a swollen taste bud since Berlin that really hurt, and now had some kind of stinging bite that we couldn’t identify. Armed, first and foremost, with mom powers and the random bits of “medical knowledge” gained by osmosis from my parents and siblings who are actual medical professionals, I did my best to address each issue using the ridiculous amount of over the counter (and some not over the counter) medications I brought with us for just this kind of moment. Medical crises managed. Writing plan aborted. I passed out wondering when I was going to be able to write again.
