Still home, still sick

Well.  Waking up to the boys' constant, throaty coughs and projectile sneezes, I had to come to peace with the fact that we'd be spending another 80-degrees-and-sunny day at home.  And, with the house completely clean, there was nothing to do but attend to my increasingly squirrelly boys.

I had to get them outside to have a little exercise and sunshine, at least, although I was really reluctant to take them anywhere public.  Not only were they all kinds of diseased,  but also there are really strict truancy laws in Switzerland, and I didn't want to have trouble for keeping Alex home.

You see, aside from illness, parents are allowed to withdraw their children from school only two days per year.  Permission for these so-called Joker Days must be applied for at least a week in advance.  Apparently, the consequence for unexcused or excessive absences is a court fine commensurate with your salary: several hundred francs, at least, per day.

Joey, in our "yard," which Dennis compares to the
 of the opening scenery of The Natural

So we stayed very close to home, just playing around our empty courtyard.  But that was enough for the boys, who joyfully rode on their scooters.  At one point Joey fell down and scraped his knee; before I could reach him, a gardner, who I'd noticed scowling at the shrubbery, was instantly there at Joey's side, his weathered face transformed by a smile, brushing my son off and pulling up his own pant leg to distract Joey with a scrape of his own, and making faces to cheer him up. Sometimes help comes from the most unexpected places.

And Alex made me proud by doing everything he could to help his little brother win races, too.  At one point, as he raced along, he gave a running commentary that went something like this: "Oh, no, Alex takes the lead! But he crashes and Joey shoots ahead. Alex is up and is chasing him! Oh, no, Joey stops and is going the wrong way, so Alex stops and waits for him to figure it out..."  It was a real nail-biter.

And here, for grandparents and aunties and uncles, is a little movie of the boys showing off their mad-crazy scooter skills:

So we played outside, scooting and painting with water at our fountain, and making flower-petal-and-stone stew, until Joey's eyes started to droop. 

Mmm-mm-mm

We moved ourselves inside where, after lunch, I just about exhausted my little bag of mommy tricks.  We played Angry Birds, old-school style:

And gave our cars new and interesting roads to travel:

And, just as I was putting Joey to sleep (wouldn't you know it), the doorbell rang, and we received a big fat box for Alex.

I know I'm repeating myself, but it bears repeating: when in Kirkland, my kids go to the best preschool, ever.  All my convictions were totally reconfirmed when Alex opened the package, sent by his beloved Teacher Pam, and dug out funky fake teeth

 and rattlesnake eggs. (You know what I mean.)

Teacher Pam raised two boys of her own: she knows what they like.

And she also enclosed photos from school, and an honorary diploma and mortar board, and, (wonderful woman!), art supplies, including paints and Alex's favorite meltable beads.  So that saw us through the rest of this afternoon.

Alex made a ring toss game out of his melty beads, and, proud as he was of it, we played well beyond the limits of my concentration.

Pushing me forward through this long day was the knowledge, tucked away in the corner of my mind, that Dennis would be coming home at 5:30....and that I'd be able to leave at that point, out for an evening with my friend.

Of course, even though it was hot and sunny all day, thunder struck as soon as I left the house, and the rain started. Honestly, I didn't care.

Free, free, we fled to a mall for books and ice cream and then, when the summer storm stopped, walked back and forth across Zürich, enjoying the longest day of the year.

The church of Enge, which we climbed up to for a
beautiful view

Lured by clanging bells, we found some of the
fuzzier residents of urban Zürich

When I got home, I found the evidence that the kids energy and enthusiasm hadn't slacked in the least, in my absence.

A worn-out daddy was further evidence.  I know just how he felt.