We lost an entire day in Paris by waking up at 3 P.M. Three o’clock IN THE AFTERNOON. My kids slept for over 18 hours. How did this happen? Tom and I woke up at three in the morning and decided to crash on the couch and watch TV until the kids woke up. We ended up dozing and the next thing I know, Tom’s bending over me with his cell phone in my face telling me we overslept because it’s now after 3 P.M., and mom and the kids are still sleeping! We go wake them up because they went to bed at 8:30 the night before which means they’ve been sleeping for almost an entire day. Apparently the kids had woken up at some point to pee but my mom made them go back to bed where they eventually fell asleep again. My mom was convinced that the kitchen clock was dead and had no idea what time it was. Now we’re disoriented and all jacked up and no closer to recovering from jet lag than when we first arrived yesterday.
![IMG_2014[1]](https://emphan.files.wordpress.com/2013/12/img_20141-e1519714708713.jpg?w=660)
To top things off, the boy had a ruthless case of constipation which led to multiple and extended bouts of wailing as he sat on the toilet trying to poop. I can’t imagine what the neighbors must have thought to hear a child crying throughout the day and shrieking, “It hurts! It hurts!” It was heartbreaking to see my child in so much pain and to feel so helpless. After we tried all the home remedies we could think of, all I could do was hunch over him as he sat on the toilet and cradle his head while he sobbed hysterically in my arms.
The night ended with me and my son shivering in the bathtub as we waited for the faucet to produce hot water. It never did. Tom had to boil water in a kettle so we could bathe ourselves from a bucket. And I thought we had left Vietnam?
Life's Too Short 