We spent about a month traveling in the US, and I had been really looking forward to our return, to getting settled into our new apartment, and most of all, getting settled into a new routine when I officially started work on 1 August.
1 August came, and I went to the office. The next day was the weekend. 3 August came, and I went to the office. The next day was also the weekend (I know; it doesn't make a lot of sense). 5 August and 6 August came, and I went to the office. What happened next? Eid al-Fitr!! A hefty five-day weekend to celebrate the end of Ramadan.
Oh yes, part of this new routine was taking Salim to daycare. He started with just a couple of hours a day and then worked up to "full" days, except that hours were shortened during Ramadan. And daycare, of course, was closed for the long weekend.
So, 12 August came. I went to the office. Salim went to daycare. I picked him up approximately 7 hours later (even a real full day at daycare is not the same as the workday that I'm used to). We did the same thing the next day. And the next. And I fully expect to do the same thing tomorrow.
But on Saturday I will start a week's worth of staff workshops, which means that I will have only an hour or two of normal workday time to actually do my job. Things are moving more slowly than I anticipated.
