Day 7

What a difference a good night's rest can make. I don't think I moved from the position I fell asleep in (I toss & turn all night, usually).

I think the mother of the family knew (somehow) that I had a kind of sad day yesterday, and I awoke this morning to find a box of Oreos waiting on the steps up to my room. Her simple gesture turned out to be the good beginning to a day that I needed (especially after yesterday). Breakfast was hot tea, & rounds of baguette spread with just a bit of Nutella (which also helps start a day right). I came upstairs, changed, and skyped w/ mom & dad for a bit, and was supposed to have lunch with this family's former au pair, but she got called in to work, so I grabbed a chicken sandwich from a pastry shop, & headed towards Gare du Nord to meet my study abroad friend. Sadly, I think we missed each other, but I think we both forgot how big that station is. Gare du Nord is one of Paris' 3 big stations, with trains leaving for destinations all over the country. I feel terrible that I missed her, but I hope to go & visit her in Chaumont some weekend to make up for it. On the upside, while I was waiting, I did meet a Canadian who's living in London now, but visiting his brother here. I was just surprised that I wound up sitting next to another English speaker.

After returning from the train station, I found an e-mail sent by the father here explaining the French lessons hours requirement for the au pair visa. See, my visa says "student", so I need to get a temporary work permit so that I won't be violating any international laws. Thankfully, the father called the person here in Paris responsible for au pair contracts, and he said that 10 hours/week for the duration of my stay would suffice. I'm just relieved that I don't have to take 15 hours of language lessons! The 10 hour requirement is comprised of 6 hours in a classroom & 4 hours of homework. It's just a 5 hour difference, but what a difference indeed!

After reading through this e-mail, it was time to get the kids from school. As usual, I picked up Youngest first from her classroom, then we waited outside the big doorway next to her building to pick up Eldest. Lunchboxes are the bane of any child's existence, but as soon as he saw me waiting, I think he remembered to go and pick up his lunchbox from (I think) the front office. Eldest, since he is allergic to soy products, has to eat his lunch separately from everyone else, so he takes his lunch to school (which I guess isn't a normal thing in France?). Anyways, the kids & I came back to the apartment momentarily so that Eldest could drop off his school bags & so that I could grab the bag that contains their afternoon snacks. Then off to the park we went, where everyone played nicely, and the weather couldn't have been better. I was in such a different state of mind that I even wrote a silly poem in my journal (sorry, not going to share...not worth the digital space)!

After we returned from the park, the kids even played together (with minimal sibling bickering!) while I prepared dinner. I wasn't feeling very creative, so it was leftover veggie soup, toast, carrot sticks, cheese & yogurt for dessert. Still, it was a very pleasant meal, and the kids really behaved well, which I definitely needed after yesterday.

So, all in all, today was a wonderful, beautiful, very good, very nice day* :]

*see what I did there? As a kid, I loved "Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day," so I decided to throw that in there, just for kicks ^_^