The past 24 or 36 or 48 hours (I have sort of lost count) have been all about adjustment. Adults adjust more easily to changes in time, weather, sleep habits by mentally preparing and telling ourselves what we need to do in order to make it work (“It is 2am, I need to go back to sleep even though it really only feels like 7pm” – and then I close my eyes, and fall asleep).

Not so with children.

They did adjust to the plane ride, somewhat (each sleeping for about 5 hours), and they have adjusted to being with their cousins (hopefully getting the crazy, screaming play out of the way last night). However, the eight hour time difference is really tough on Naomi.

After getting a small amount of sleep Friday night, she fell asleep two more times during the day on Saturday. Last night when it was time for all to go to bed, she did, but then woke up two hours later, her little brain making the assumption that that was her afternoon nap.

She was up from 1am until 5:30am when she finally passed out in front of the downstairs TV. So of course, I was up until 5:30am as well. I took her little limp body up to bed about an hour before it got light this morning. She slept, so tired and so done with fighting. I slept too, also done with the fight.

Today we went to the neighborhood park for awhile, where she ran and ran and made up for lost time strapped into her carseat on the plane. It was so cold, almost snow weather, but the kids didn’t care. As soon as we reached the edge of the lawn, four little, bundled bodies took off for the four corners of the park, picking up twigs with mittened hands and laughing together.

Hopefully tonight and tomorrow will be a little better and her little body rhythms will begin to move in sync with the rest of us. Hopefully we’ll be ready to get out, brave the cold, and see a little bit of this beautiful country.