On Thursday afternoon a very nice lady came by to pick up Bruce, our kitten. Since the adoption about seven weeks ago, we had decided that we
were not going to keep Bruce. Not only will we be away a large portion of the summer, but both Courtney and August have shown allergy tendencies, and feeding and caring for a kitten is an added cost we are not able to manage for the moment. So we got ready – the boys cuddled and played with Bruce for a couple of hours, and when the lady arrived they told her all about him and she let them put Bruce in her travelling cage. He was so exhausted from all the attention that he immediately laid down for a nap. As I said good-bye to the lady and helped her get into the elevator, August walked over to the couch with tears in his eyes, and as soon as they were gone and our door shut, both August and William burst out crying. With tears running down my eyes, I sat with them with my arms around them on the couch for a good half an hour, comforting and assuring them that Bruce would be fine, and that there would be other kittens. “But they won’t be Bruce,” August cried, angry and sad.Friday morning started with a book club meeting at the Maadi House. Courtney and his friends hung out, first
for breakfast and then with the kids by the pool, while the Philosophers Wives discussed our latest book Chicago: A modern Arabic novel (a review will follow soon) by Alaa Al Aswany, had breakfast and reflected on life in general. Meeting with the Philosophers Wives always makes me feel inspired; they are a little bit older than I am, full of wisdom, experience, joy, charisma and knowledge, and I try to absorb as much as I can whenever I get a chance. One is an Alaska-born literature professor and mother of two; another is a mother of three who works with children, and a third one is a musicologist that has been here so long she knows everything. We chatted until lunch time at which point the Fugates returned home for lunch and a last touch up on the Science Fair projects the boys had been working on with Courtney for six weeks. They nervously presented their projects in front of a small crowd at a fellow home schooling family’s house, and the whole event was very nice. I enjoyed seeing the work other home schooling children presented, and witnessing the support they received from their parents although the whole process. It’s 
at moments like this that I think about how lucky our children are to be able to home school. August was so nervous he literally lost his ability to speak, but with our help he got through the whole presentation, coming out stronger and remembering it as a positive experience – something he overcame – rather than an embarrassing and painful moment in front of merciless class mates.Saturday was finally the day of the Maadi Baseball League opening games, and William, who’s on the White Sox, played his first T-ball game. It was the cutest thing I’d ever seen; there were a lot of parents in the field, helping and directing the kids who had no idea what they were doing, and everyone had a great time. August’s game was a little more advanced and entailed coach pitching, but the spirit was the same and the kids all had a blast. It was all great; the kids enjoyed everything from hitting or catching a ball right down to the snack provided by the team moms at the end of the game. We’re in for a great season!
The boys and I spent the afternoon swimming and sunbathing at the Maadi House, hanging out with friends while Courtney stayed at home working and making dinner. In the evening after the kids went to bed we watched a movie.
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1 comment:
what do you think about the protests?!
as always, enjoy reading your blog. you bring life to the place i learned about in my high school textbooks. thanks.
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