I'm Sorry, So Sorry

To my lovely Mom and Dad.  I know I am only five years into this parenting thing, but I feel I must apologize for anything I have ever done, am currently doing, or will do in the future to cause you grief.  And to Nicholas and Ryan, in case you happened to read this someday way down the road, you may feel free to do the same to your father and me.  I'm pretty sure by that time you will have done a lot worse than anything going on now, so showering us with gifts and money is not prohibited.  Returning our love is okay too.

As you may have guessed, my theory of Nicholas having a better day at school because he was able to get to sleep early last night did not play out as I had hoped.  I mean, it's not totally disastrous and I am probably letting it bother me more than I should but once the waterworks start I begin having doubts about everything.  Then I come to my senses and realize that it's only school, even if it is in China, and plenty of parents out there have a lot more to worry about than leaving their child somewhere that makes them a little uncomfortable.  I do know one thing for sure.  It's not ground breaking or surprising, but true nonetheless.  Anyone who says that parenting is easy either has never done it or isn't doing it right.

After we dropped Nicholas off at school Ryan and I did some grocery shopping and looked around then came home and had a nap, again.  By the time we got up we had a chance to chill and snack before leaving to pick Nick up again.  When we got to the school the kids were outside and I could see mine, looking sad and not wanting to participate in a little race they were doing.  I could see myself at that age doing the exact same thing and started wondering how I managed to get out of it.  'Time' was all I could come up with and his teacher said the same thing when she brought him out of the school.

For the second day in a row we had to stop shortly after leaving the school so Nicholas could pee on the side of the road.  After some questioning I determined that he holds it all day because he doesn't want to use the bathroom there even though he is allowed to go out of the classroom to the teachers bathroom.  He also didn't eat or drink anything all day.  He said he wasn't hungry and didn't want the sandwich or juice packs I sent along.  Luckily he has a little padding on his body so he can afford a few days of not eating a lot.  What I don't get is why he is willing to whip it out to pee on the side of the road with all kinds of traffic going by but not in the bathroom at school.  I was hoping he'd be alright using the 'jurnal' (as he calls it) in the kids bathroom but I guess not.  Perhaps this is a form of non-violent protest.  We will give it some more time and see what happens.

When we got home I left the boys to play together and did the only thing a good, stressed-out mother can do, I started drinking.  Why does that sound familiar?  I pulled out a bottle of red wine and had a few glasses while I made supper and discussed school with Nicholas.  I told him that we were scared to come to China but we made an effort to participate and make friends and so we are not miserable here but are in fact enjoying the experience.  It makes the time go by faster.  I said that he can play and make friends and that will make school much more fun and the day will not drag on, but he has to decide to do that.  I'm not sure if I got through to him with that but we will see.  He now has four days off since Monday is a holiday so going back on Tuesday probably won't be any better.  For now we won't worry about it but will enjoy our long weekend.

Have a great one everybody!  And to all you parents, new and experienced, I tip my hat to you.  Well, I would if I was wearing one.  It's a tough job but totally worth it (so I'm told anyway).