Our flight to Australia was made more bearable by a few hours break and treating ourselves to a swanky hotel in Dubai. The luxury of a huge bed and a power shower refreshing and revitalising us. The next leg was therefore much more bearable and we arrived in Perth feeling much better than usual after a normally grueling journey.
I'd like also, if I may be so bold, to take this opportunity to point something out to all those of you who were critical of our decision to have a television free home. Faced with the new and exciting prospect of unlimited viewing time on her "telly just for me?" and clearly swathed in her very own utopia, basking in the bowers of bliss, Finje was content and unproblematic on the long flight. But even this usually media deprived child couldn't endure 18 hours of The Box. She turned, albeit reluctantly, to her colouring book, a marathon Disney and Bindi's Australian Animals proving too much even for her.
With an interlude behind us courtesy of Dubai International Hotel and another eight hours sleep on arrival at my brother's home in Perth, I figured we might have avoided, at least in the most part, the curse of the dreaded jet-lag.
Our first day was a relaxing and gentle introduction to the holiday. So much so, that as Finje splashed about in the warm waves of the Indian Ocean she proclaimed that Australia was her new favourite place in the "whole wideworld." Pleasing, especially when reinforced with, "It's even better than the moon!" Which, you have to admit, is hard to top.
That evening, she toddled off to bed at her usual time of 7pm. As she dozed off, happy with life and all it has to offer, my husband and I nodded to one another. It was a smug non-verbal affirmation of our magnificent organisational skills.
Snuggling into bed at around 10pm we were ourselves just entering the Land of Nod when the little person tottered into our room. "I'm really, really very tired and my brain wants so sleep lots butit's arguing with my body!" Well, that summed it up. A plethora of cuddles, songs and this-is-absolutely-the-last-one-now stories and she eventually drifted off.
Relief.
That was until 3.36am.
"Papa! PAPA! Why is water wet?"
We were in for a long night.