Hunting the Hummingbird - by David C Hoffman

Support independent publishing: Buy this e-book on Lulu.

Thursday, June 1, 2017

That's a wrap!

Literally.

Today was my LAST DAY of work (and all God's people said AMEN) and when the work day was over, the classroom looked like this:



All wrapped up.

The dust and sand is so atrocious here that you apparently must seal off every surface in plastic and then tape up the plastic tightly, even though the doors and windows will be closed all summer.


I am thankful to have had that job this last school year. Very thankful. It's been a wonderful opportunity to meet some truly great people, and I've felt so lucky to be on the same campus as my kids each day. 
That being said, I'm super over it.
Over. It.

David told me months ago that I should stop working in the month of May, as we'd have plenty to do around our home.
Don't tell him (it's okay, he doesn't read the blog often) but he was totally right.
Instead of heeding his advice, I dug my stubborn heels in and insisted I be there until the first of June, so I could see the school year come close to finishing out...so I could honor my commitment to be an assistant there in that little KG classroom.

What a moron.

I really didn't fully comprehend that the students all pretty much stop coming mid - May. 
I'd been told that would be the case, by several people, but I just couldn't wrap my head around that being truth.
I mean, why would parents just stop sending their kids to school before it's officially over??
Because Kuwait. 
Staff and parents alike tried to inform me that the kids all stop coming to schools all over the country in the middle of the month, or at the latest when Ramadan begins. But I just kept looking at the official school calendar and seeing the last day of school marked clearly as June 22nd, and thinking that would be the last day of school, and my skipping out on June 1st was already "leaving early"...and pulling my kids out early.

Turns out, everyone - but me - was correct. 
I hate it when that happens. 
I've spent the last two weeks just cleaning things around the child-less classroom and packing things up.
Ya know, kinda like what I should have been doing in my home as well.

The twins have stayed home with Dave on the days he doesn't have to go into to work, and I've been dragging them along with me to hang out with the few other kids of employees that are stuck coming in to school still too.

But today? FINISHED.

This morning was the LAST morning of getting up, getting lunch boxes in backpacks, and heading out the door to make the commute from Salmiya to Hawally for school/work. 

Ramadan has made it a bit easier these last few days because A) we don't start until 9:00am, as opposed to the usual 7:00am and B) there is hardly any traffic, as all the sane people quit coming weeks ago. 
But it has also made things much harder because I can not eat or drink in the car during daylight hours. Kuwait DOESN'T PLAY when it comes to fasting during Ramadan. And it's hot. It was 113 F on our drive in the other morning. 
I'm terrified I'll absentmindedly take a big ol' swig from my ubiquitous water bottle while sitting at a red light, and end up in a Kuwaiti jail for the month of June...so when we get in the car, I put my bag with my water bottle in the back seat. I just can't risk making a stupid error and paying such a huge price for it.
Not gonna miss that part one bit.


Our last day to pack up our bags and head to school...



No uniforms, because there are only a total of about eight kids on the entire campus and no one really cares.

New backpacks, because David had a student with that exact wolf backpack, and he mentioned how our son would think that was too cool...so the student picked one up for our boy =). Isn't that sweet?  (I mean the gesture, not the backpack. The backpack is borderline terrifying, with actual 3D fangs.) He also selected and sent along a cute kitty backpack for Sister. So thoughtful. 

And! AND!!! Please take note of the FIVE boxes filled and ready to be taped up and shipped off early next week. Hoo to the Ray, ya'll, we're nearly all finished up with the packing!
With those boxes being complete, we are DONE with what is being shipped home.
(FYI  to my dear sister Natalie: those five boxes will be appearing on your doorstep sometime in June...I fully intend to send you proper documentation of this...but in case I forget, consider this a heads up...; ) ).

All that's left in our apartment is what's going in four suitcases and four carry-ons, being given to various people here in Kuwait, or being left in the apartment as it's what Dave's work provided for us. 

Clearly this success in productivity has left me feeling overly cocky, because when we got home this afternoon, instead of tackling this mess in my bedroom...


...I decided a three hour nap would be a better use of my time.


And now it's nearly midnight and I'm up blogging and continuing to ignore the disaster in there.

And the laundry.
And the dishes.
And the fact that my children will be up in like seven hours.

Feels like the right choice.

2 comments:

  1. Half a world away we had the same kind of morning. Today was our girls' last day of school. I am looking forward to waking up tomorrow morning without lunches to make and backpacks to pack. Congratulations on all the packing and preparation you have accomplished. The nap was a good call.

    ReplyDelete
  2. A nap sounds like it was a perfectly good alternative to me. Glad school is "wrapped up" and you will soon be able to embark on the rest of your world adventure on your way back to us!

    Love, Aunt Carol

    ReplyDelete