It was a rough night of sleep for everyone – I think I slept about 3 hours total. Millie came into our bed and breathed her hot breath directly into my face all night. When our alarms went off at 5:30AM she was still warm but had a lower fever than the night before and seemed mostly fine. Good appetite, good mood, no coughing, no gastro issues. So we headed to the airport for our flight to Amsterdam.

Amsterdam wasn’t on our original itinerary, but we pivoted a couple of weeks ago while in Tunisia during a low point when she was really, really upset about not being around other kids. Nick found an English-speaking summer camp and we got her a spot for this week.

This week will be a hit to our budget but hopefully a boost to our energy. She’s been much happier recently but she is excited for camp and Nick and I are excited for some time together to talk without having to pause every 10 seconds to answer questions like “how does a person in a wheelchair pee?” and “do blind people have eyes?” She is still on her disability kick.

The flight went well, as far as I know. My gift / toxic trait is that I uncontrollably sleep through entire flights. So from wheels up to touchdown, Nick is basically a single parent.

We landed at 9AM and took the bus to our hotel. Check-in wasn’t until 3 so we had a whole day to kill with a kind of sick and very tired Millie. From our hotel we walked to a delicious brunch. They served Millie’s kombucha in a wine glass which made her feel very fancy.

And then to a playground. She played a bit but mostly hung out on the bench with us. It felt like everyone around us was American.

We walked to where the camp will be so that she could get familiar with the building and area before we drop her off in the morning. She noticed stolpersteines in front of the building and excitedly said “look, gold bricks like your grandparents!” This then led to us attempting to explain the holocaust in an age-appropriate way, which is impossible.

She asked lots of difficult-to-answer questions, like “they went to a camp like I’m going to?” And “did they die of old age?” And “what happened to their skeletons?”As always, we did our best while stumbling over our answers.

She was holding it together but fading fast. Nick carried her and she fell asleep on his shoulder. So we stopped at a park and let her sleep while avoiding sunburns.

They lay there for an hour until we finally made it to 3PM and we could check in. Our hotel room is tiny but nice enough, and in a great location. It feels like being on a boat.

Millie still seemed mostly fine but had a fever. She watched Zootopia to rest and hopefully (pleaaaaase g-d) be fever free in the morning for camp.

We walked to a very casual dinner and home for an early-ish night. Even though we didn’t plan to be here I’m so glad we are. We have a week of great weather ahead of us and I’m excited to explore pockets of the city I’ve never been to before.

Millie insisted on taking this one of us. We look TIRED but happy, which is what we are.