The way I love you

5| A Not So Normal Day

Sean needed to leave the house around 4 am the next day and managed not to wake anyone up except from Lola, who softly greeted him with a wagging tail and toy in her snout.

"Good morning to you too.", Sean chuckled, taking his time to give her some attention. "You seem tired, beautiful girl. I think you should rather sleep a bit longer before starting to play, okay? Keep your energy.", he said, giving Lola a kiss on her forehead. "You're getting a bit tired lately, huh?", he asked with a small sad smile on his lips. "You're truly special. We love you, okay?", Sean made sure, giving her a last stroke through her grey turning fur before heading out.

It was one of those rare days when Lana was alone with the kids in the morning, which meant for her waking up around six, to prepare all the lunches. Even though the school lunch in Canada was a bit better than in the US, Flynn and Leo preferred their parents' lunchboxes. Lana wasn't bothered by that at all, even glad to know that the kids would actually eat something healthy.

She didn't understand why school lunches had to provide kids with all kinds of fast foods. Of course, Leo and Flynn requested some chips or a sweet as well, which Lana gladly prepared for them, but just as a snack and not as part of the main meal.

In addition to that, almost every single thing was wrapped separately in plastic.

4 slices of apples in an air-filled plastic bag was something she refused to support, especially since the apples were completely tasteless and full of chemicals.

By doing it herself, she could at least try to reduce the waste they were producing even though it wasn't that easy in America since literally everything was wrapped in plastic.

She was fortunate enough to buy in higher-priced, smaller shops that prevent that by selling loose fruits and vegetables but she knew, well enough from her own experience, that a lot of families weren't able to provide that kind of extra money to spend on food.

That was one reason why she almost doubled Leo's lunch. She was wondering for a long time why he was always coming home hungry after school, asking for snacks and fruits constantly since he couldn't wait for dinner. It went on until Lana found out the reason behind it. Leo had started to share his lunch with a new girlfriend of his, whose parents couldn't provide the money for school lunch. Of course, the little girl had food with her but apparently just bread, which was enough of a reason for her to feel left out, when seeing all the other kids with snacks and yogurts.

Lana didn't make a big deal out of it, since she knew how hard it was for parents to accept help, so all she did was secretly help out by packing fruits and snacks for her as well, that Leo could share if she wanted some.

Since the bags of the boys were packed, she went upstairs to wake everyone up, before making Amélie ready. Flynn and Leo dressed themselves in the meantime, before going downstairs already.

"I prepared yogurt and oats... anyone interested?", Lana asked when she came down with Amélie on her hip.

"Yeah me!", Flynn immediately said, which wasn't a surprise to her. She sat Amélie down and gave him and her some of the oatmeal, whilst Leo asked for some cereal, which Lana gave him.

They all had their breakfast before she was dropping them off at school and nursery. It was basically a home office day for her, so back home Lana made herself some tea and avocado bread before prepping for the upcoming days as Regina, which included going through some of her old notebooks she had created for the character. In between, she took Lola for a walk and picked up some groceries, especially since the kids had requested baked beans on Toast, of which Lana wasn't a big fan.

She picked them all up around three and stayed straight away in the garden with everyone for a bit of fresh air before it would get dark. Since it was getting later and cooler again, her coughing came back, slowly but surely, which alarmed Flynn, who always looked out for everyone in the family. He was a true caretaker.