Toughest day yet

Bar none, today has been one of the hardest so far. In part, because
we had to be up at 5 am in order to catch an 8 am flight to Beijing.
The kids were tired, we were tired... and well, it just came to a head
today. Throw in a 3 hour plane ride and brand new surroundings for
Ren, and it made for a long day . . . a very, very, long day.

Today is a holiday in China - May Day - but the untrained eye wouldn't
have known it. Leaving the hotel at 6 am, it seemed to be there was
already a fair bit of hussle and bussle. Oh sure, I've been in China
long enough to tell it wasn't your usual - but there were people going
places, a traffic jam in front of the bus station, some shops open.
Certainly not what you'd expect on Labour Day in Ottawa anyway. On
the way to the airport, it kinda hit us that we were in the provincial
capital of a province whose population eclipses Canada's. That is why
there seems to be activity even on a holiday.

The flight was relatively surprisingly uneventful. Ren was a little
restless, but the advantage to the 5 am wake-up is that he slept half
the flight. It was enough of a taste though, that I'm not relishing
the 13 hour flight home, especially if Ren still refuses to go to
anyone but me.

The biggest issue today is the earliest sprouts of sibling rivalry,
and they ain't pretty. Kiyomi is starting to get fed up and Ren is
starting to get comfortable enough to be aggressive. Not a great
combination, especially when you throw in the fact that Ren isn't yet
familiar with us or English. Everytime Kiyomi sits on my lap or even
gets too cozy, Ren is on me like flies on butter. He starts by taking
up space and if that doesn't work, he starts to resort to other means
to stake the territory - head butts and scratching are his current
favourites. The fatigue and the inability to get anywhere close to me
without being accosted were just too much for Kiyomi and we were
treated to some stereo wailing. And one point, I did think maybe the
best course of action would be to join in and see if that shocked them
enough to at least dampen the volume a little. If anyone has any tips
for dealing with siblings - please, oh, please send them along.

There were some small forward steps. The biggest is that we've
managed to keep our hands on the one remaining green shoe and Ren
seems content enough to have mismatched ones as long as they are on
his feet. Ren has also spent more time off my lap today and is
obviously getting more comfortable with Kohji and Obaachan and
Ojiichan. He even voluntarily ventured onto Kohji's lap on the
plane. He also spent a good 1/2 hour contendedly playing with his
cars this evening - lining them up on a small table and laughing when
they hit the ground. However, all of these small steps pale in
comparison to the fact that he actually got into the stroller ... no
wailing, no trying to climb out. I spent an entire hour walking
around Beijing without an extra appendage. Oh sure, I had to be the
one to push the stroller, but at least I was free to look down at my
toes for the first time since receiving Ren. I don't begrudge the
little nipper's need to be with me, but man, is it exhausting!

You'll note that in all pictures of Ren, he's wearing the exact same
blue sweater. He won't be without it, and so it, along with the
shoes, stay on him until he's good and asleep at which point, I slip
them of. Looking at him today, I couldn't help but think to myself,
what the hell are we doing to this kid. He's being strolled around
Beijing with mismatched shoes, a goose egg on his forehead (fall today
at grocery store), bug bites on his temple (from the excursion to the
caves) and a rather dirty sweater, despite the 30 degree heat
(although for this one, the Chinese wouldn't bat and eye - I saw kids
with two layers on today). He's going to look back on these pictures
and cry foul I have no doubt.

Now back in Beijing, we've joined up with 4 other families - 3 with
wee ones from Jiangxi (Kiyomi's birth province) and one with a 4 year
old from Anwai. I suspect the rest of this trip will feel a little
more similar to what we experienced last time - starting with the
Great Wall tomorrow. Last time, we made it to the top, but it was
socked in and there was no views to speak of. This time, I can't see
us dragging a 4 year old and a 2 year old to the top of the Wall. But
stay tuned, cause you never know....