Happiness Is...

Happiness is...

When I open my eyes in the morning and the first thing I see is Justin Baby awake at my bedside, playing blissfully with his toy car.

Our First Trip with Justin Baby

For the first time in my life, I was actually kind of glad to be back in SG after a holiday. You must be thinking I have gone bonkers... who wouldn't prefer to be on vacation?!?!

Of course, it was still a dread to return to the cruel world of endless emails, incomplete tasks and sales targets after pretending they never existed the moment the A380 took off. But I don't think I could survive another day of a 10-day intensive training camp. In another words, it was still a holiday... but minus away the relaxation part. Oh wait... unless if you consider 2 nights of foot massage that sent me straight to deep sleep within the first 10 min.

I half expected that to be the case the moment we decide to take on this challenge of bringing Justin baby to Tokyo followed by Beijing. Wierd combination I know but let's just leave it as " a result of various various factors" and get on with my griping.

I knew it would be challenging (which was supposed to be part of the fun) but not THAT challenging. The last time I felt such physical torment was probably in the labour ward. There was endless flights of staircases throughout the trip (yes, both countries) that we have to overcome as a family of 4 + 1 and sometimes with 4 huge luggages, 1 stroller, 1 humongous baby bagpack and an increasing number of handcarry bags as the trip progressed. What will remain in my memories in many years to come would be the endless walking around with baggages in the merciless hot weather. If you think the Beijing traffic is bad, try the human traffic. Imagine being packed like sardines soaking wet in a human jam on Great Wall. Inconceivable.

To me, hotel rooms had taken on a new definition. It was where I spent every night emptying an entire bag of dirty milk bottles, spoons & containers.... washing them, drying them, refilling them, and repacking before hitting the showers. It was also where I ransacked my luggage (aka the mobile provision store) for the next day's supply.

So was it enjoyable at all? Well, not everyday Justin baby gets to suck milk at The Great Wall, poop in The Forbidden City, crawl around on tatami floor, eat in a bullet train, sleep in a cable car... and always having some place different to go everyday. So my guess is it was most enjoyable for him :)

Putting everything aside, the very simple joy of being able to spend 24 hours over 10 days together and all that extra bonding was totally worth it. And did I mention Justin baby had a stubborn pamper's tan line that still hasn't quite gone away?