Thursday, August 31, 2017
Summer flowers
Driving home from somewhere I noticed a pretty sunflower field not far from my house. Choco and I went back in the afternoon with the camera to check it out.
The sunflowers are not the tall towering type but rather about waist high and seem to have been planted in rows by some farmer. The "field" is an empty lot at a fork in the road which has had a for sale sign up on it for years. I guess the farmer decided he might as well beautify the lot as to just leave it overgrown.
That's a community volunteer fire station in the background there.
The cars have to stop at this fork for the light so a lot of people get to admire this field. I hope it never turns into a convenience store location!
And as we were passing by, I stopped to take a picture of this... weed. What is this? It is taking over the hillside and now growing onto the sidewalk before the school. Every morning I patrol pass this area and it has the sweetest fragrance!
Wednesday, August 30, 2017
Small projects done
I've been getting around to my sewing commitments and I finished the Mola block I had been working on before I left for the States.
This is supposed to be a cow... I had to just check that. "What WAS that I was making?" I think I had assumed it was the block for the year of the pig but that's not right. There is already a year of the boar block, so what is this supposed to be? A cow? It doesn't look much like a cow to me... A very fat cow...
And here are the 9 blocks that are now finished. I'm getting skimpy on my little triangles aren't I... Ah well, maybe the next block will work out better.
I also got the fabric postcard made for my mother this month. A cheery little bird. I send these postcards with a handwritten note on the back but was at a loss for what to write this month. I don't think Marcy's informed my mother of Tetsu's mother's passing and though she won't remember the news anyway I didn't see any reason to make her sad. Just a happy sentiment about having a good summer with her in California.
The paper postcard stays with me, the fabric postcard gets sent in the mail this afternoon!
This is supposed to be a cow... I had to just check that. "What WAS that I was making?" I think I had assumed it was the block for the year of the pig but that's not right. There is already a year of the boar block, so what is this supposed to be? A cow? It doesn't look much like a cow to me... A very fat cow...
Tuesday, August 29, 2017
Dog Days of summer
Someone asked me about the heat in Japan and what it actually was. And someone else asked why Japan doesn't have the technology to have central heating and cooling.
For all my complaining, my area of Japan isn't really all that hot. Let's see... today it will hit about 30 degrees celsius which is 87 degrees fahrenheit. That's not too bad is it. In California we had a few 96 degree fahrenheit days (35 degrees celsius) and while I wouldn't go out walking in that heat, it was bearable. Besides which, the California heat arrived around 9:00 and left around 6:00 so that it was only the midday that was uncomfortable and the evenings and nights were pretty cool. Not so with Japan. The heat just hangs and hangs all night long and it is difficult to sleep. I wake up half (all!) naked and turned around in the bed with my body as close to the open window as I can get. So miserable!
The reason for the misery and for the mold is the humidity. It absolutely infuriated me when Marcy would moan IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA,
"Oh, isn't this humidity awful? I just hate it."
LADY!!! YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT HUMIDITY IS!!!!!
Humidity is when my California straight hair becomes a mass of frizz and curls all over my face and I'd like to shave it all off!
Humidity is when clothing sticks to you and you can't slip into flip-flops and sandals because they stick to your feet!
I would love to bring Marcy to Japan in August just to show her what living in real humidity can be. I fantasize that she would gasp and head back to the airplane telling me that such a country was unlivable and then she'd admire me for my perseverance. Of course do I really want her to have such a bad impression of Japan? No. (The same goes for our winters. I want her to experience our uncomfortable winter living conditions too!)
Humidity today is 87% and that means I keep ice cold water at hand and also a wet towel handkerchief. Makeup goes out the window... it all gets wiped off before noon. Hiding in the shade doesn't help with humidity. It feels like a continual hot flash with the sweats!
As an aside.... I posed these questions about climate to Marlene this week and she, who has lived in Hong Kong, says the humidity is worse there than in Japan. And that Singapore has an even higher humidity percentage. I should be grateful for small blessings I guess.
So... What about technology. Doesn't Japan have air conditioning? Of course we do. All the stores are air conditioned. Probably most homes have at least one air conditioning unit. Some people use it all the time though I'd say most people only use it when life becomes completely unbearable... like one is likely to pass out from heat stroke.
One reason (this is Marlene and my theory) is that homes are not as sturdily constructed at least in our part of Japan. We are not on the coldest part of the island nor the hottest. A middle-of-the-road location so builders don't put in the insulation that is necessary for other parts of Japan. Most homes don't have double windows to keep out the temperature difference either so heat from the outside gets into the house and the air conditioned coolness seeps out quickly too. Marlene has an air conditioner in her living room too (so do I) but she says that the heat from the sun beating in the windows is so strong that she waits until evening to turn on the air conditioner just because it would be a losing battle to cool off the room.
That brings me to another reason why Japanese may not use their air conditioners all that much nor have central temperature control in their homes. The cost of electricity is just too high. It is more economical to heat or cool one room at a time and it is considered a waste to acclimate a room that the family won't but walk through on the way to somewhere else. Japan has no natural resources (except for an abundance of water) and to make electricity is expensive. Japan is already trying to wean away from nuclear energy which will boost electric costs higher. A development in recent years are the solar farms which I absolutely hate but supposedly are going to help reduce electrical costs. Farmers are digging up their fields and putting in solar panels which ruins the landscape in my opinion. The panels are on all the new house roofs and even a single panel or two in the yards to generate personal electricity. I'M not going that route. I'll stay hot. (or cold).
So people practice thriftiness by not using their air-conditioners (or laundry dryers).
A third reason for not using the technology available is because Japanese are just plain stoic. They (we) LIKE bearing up and plodding through and appearing indifferent to pain or pleasure. I think it dates back to the samurai era... Grin (in the case of samurai, don't grin) and bear it.
And maybe a more positive view of the Japanese is the love of nature. Why fight nature? When it is hot it is hot, when it is cold it is cold. That is part of life and an artificial coolness in summer is not really good for the natural body. Many people will not use heated blankets in the winter for the same reason and claim air conditioning will lower the body's immune system. ACCEPTANCE is the key. Easier said than done!
So yes, Japan has the technology. Our air-conditioner units do both cooling and heating. Many homes have built-in heated floors which allows the heat to rise in the rooms.
But most Japanese families still use spinning electric fans in the summer and low heated tables in the winter. We carry folded fans and handkerchiefs (such a supply of handkerchiefs everyone has!) in the summer and practically worship our heated toilet seats in the winter.
Saying all the above, I'll have you know that we had Obaachan's air conditioning unit disconnected from her apartment and brought to our house for future use. It sits disconnected on our front porch now.
"Do we need it?" Tetsu and I mused. "We have one in the living room and one in our bedroom that we haven't used yet this summer. Where will we put Obaachan's?"
The PLAN is to have it installed eventually IN MY SEWING ROOM!!! Yeah! I won't have an excuse anymore not to sew (in the summer because it is too hot, in the winter because it is too cold)! The air conditioner isn't going in THIS month but maybe we will get it in before the dead of winter.
Julie, Carin, Rachel... Anything to add?
The reason for the misery and for the mold is the humidity. It absolutely infuriated me when Marcy would moan IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA,
"Oh, isn't this humidity awful? I just hate it."
LADY!!! YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT HUMIDITY IS!!!!!
Humidity is when my California straight hair becomes a mass of frizz and curls all over my face and I'd like to shave it all off!
Humidity is when clothing sticks to you and you can't slip into flip-flops and sandals because they stick to your feet!
I would love to bring Marcy to Japan in August just to show her what living in real humidity can be. I fantasize that she would gasp and head back to the airplane telling me that such a country was unlivable and then she'd admire me for my perseverance. Of course do I really want her to have such a bad impression of Japan? No. (The same goes for our winters. I want her to experience our uncomfortable winter living conditions too!)
Humidity today is 87% and that means I keep ice cold water at hand and also a wet towel handkerchief. Makeup goes out the window... it all gets wiped off before noon. Hiding in the shade doesn't help with humidity. It feels like a continual hot flash with the sweats!
As an aside.... I posed these questions about climate to Marlene this week and she, who has lived in Hong Kong, says the humidity is worse there than in Japan. And that Singapore has an even higher humidity percentage. I should be grateful for small blessings I guess.
So... What about technology. Doesn't Japan have air conditioning? Of course we do. All the stores are air conditioned. Probably most homes have at least one air conditioning unit. Some people use it all the time though I'd say most people only use it when life becomes completely unbearable... like one is likely to pass out from heat stroke.
One reason (this is Marlene and my theory) is that homes are not as sturdily constructed at least in our part of Japan. We are not on the coldest part of the island nor the hottest. A middle-of-the-road location so builders don't put in the insulation that is necessary for other parts of Japan. Most homes don't have double windows to keep out the temperature difference either so heat from the outside gets into the house and the air conditioned coolness seeps out quickly too. Marlene has an air conditioner in her living room too (so do I) but she says that the heat from the sun beating in the windows is so strong that she waits until evening to turn on the air conditioner just because it would be a losing battle to cool off the room.
That brings me to another reason why Japanese may not use their air conditioners all that much nor have central temperature control in their homes. The cost of electricity is just too high. It is more economical to heat or cool one room at a time and it is considered a waste to acclimate a room that the family won't but walk through on the way to somewhere else. Japan has no natural resources (except for an abundance of water) and to make electricity is expensive. Japan is already trying to wean away from nuclear energy which will boost electric costs higher. A development in recent years are the solar farms which I absolutely hate but supposedly are going to help reduce electrical costs. Farmers are digging up their fields and putting in solar panels which ruins the landscape in my opinion. The panels are on all the new house roofs and even a single panel or two in the yards to generate personal electricity. I'M not going that route. I'll stay hot. (or cold).
So people practice thriftiness by not using their air-conditioners (or laundry dryers).
A third reason for not using the technology available is because Japanese are just plain stoic. They (we) LIKE bearing up and plodding through and appearing indifferent to pain or pleasure. I think it dates back to the samurai era... Grin (in the case of samurai, don't grin) and bear it.
And maybe a more positive view of the Japanese is the love of nature. Why fight nature? When it is hot it is hot, when it is cold it is cold. That is part of life and an artificial coolness in summer is not really good for the natural body. Many people will not use heated blankets in the winter for the same reason and claim air conditioning will lower the body's immune system. ACCEPTANCE is the key. Easier said than done!
So yes, Japan has the technology. Our air-conditioner units do both cooling and heating. Many homes have built-in heated floors which allows the heat to rise in the rooms.
But most Japanese families still use spinning electric fans in the summer and low heated tables in the winter. We carry folded fans and handkerchiefs (such a supply of handkerchiefs everyone has!) in the summer and practically worship our heated toilet seats in the winter.
Saying all the above, I'll have you know that we had Obaachan's air conditioning unit disconnected from her apartment and brought to our house for future use. It sits disconnected on our front porch now.
"Do we need it?" Tetsu and I mused. "We have one in the living room and one in our bedroom that we haven't used yet this summer. Where will we put Obaachan's?"
The PLAN is to have it installed eventually IN MY SEWING ROOM!!! Yeah! I won't have an excuse anymore not to sew (in the summer because it is too hot, in the winter because it is too cold)! The air conditioner isn't going in THIS month but maybe we will get it in before the dead of winter.
Julie, Carin, Rachel... Anything to add?
Monday, August 28, 2017
Alert
This morning I was out walking Choco around 5:45. We got to the cornfields and then turned around and headed back home. About 5 minutes away from the house my iPhone started buzzing and clanging and I wondered what the noise was about. An earthquake warning? I stopped and looked at the screen squinting as I hadn't brought my reading glasses on the walk with me. What did that say?
"North Korea has fired missiles which are directed towards the northern part of Japan."
Of course this was in Japanese so it took me a bit to work out what the warning was about.
For months now Japan has been concerned about the increasing "testing" of North Korean missiles and what the proximity to North Korea means for the Japanese population. The news reports how communities have been having/should hold missile evacuation drills in the event of a direct hit from North Korea. Today's alert (and there was a second one a few minutes later) was the first time Japan has used its J-Alert to warn the population of the northern prefectures of a possible attack.
What was I to do? Run home with Choco hoping to get indoors before my world exploded? I meandered on home at unaware-Choco's pace. Once in the house I wondered if I should bring my outdoor cats indoors... or maybe I should close my open windows. Or maybe I should wake Tetsu up because he seemed to have left his cell phone downstairs where he couldn't hear the alert. (And the second alert was quite alarming what with my iPhone and Tetsu's cell phone and the TV alert system going off at the same time.) I let Tetsu sleep and proceeded to fix breakfast. What will be will be.
Earlier this week Tetsu had pointed out a photo in the newspaper of citizens in our city practicing the bomb drill. Does anyone remember the bomb drills we had in school in the early 1960's? I remember we were told to get under our desks in a crouching position and cover our necks with our hands to protect our spinal cords from falling glass. The photo of the city drill was the much the same with people crouching in the park with their hands over the backs of their necks. As if that is going to do anyone any good in a nuclear attack Tetsu pointed out!
So breakfast and the rest of the morning continued as usual with only the TV news blaring out government reports and a large red and black ALERT screen bordering the news commentators until an all clear signal was given nearly an hour later. In actuality, the North Korean missiles had passed over Northern Japan within four minutes of the original alert. That's not a lot of time to prepare is it?
I guess I don't really feel the urgency behind all this but maybe I should. My conclusion to the earthquake disaster that we had 6 years ago was to carry on life normally, that panic and fear could only intensify an emergency situation.
The school children walked to school as usual today. Everyone is going about their business as normal. I have left the TV off.
That's ONE way to start a morning.
"North Korea has fired missiles which are directed towards the northern part of Japan."
Of course this was in Japanese so it took me a bit to work out what the warning was about.
What was I to do? Run home with Choco hoping to get indoors before my world exploded? I meandered on home at unaware-Choco's pace. Once in the house I wondered if I should bring my outdoor cats indoors... or maybe I should close my open windows. Or maybe I should wake Tetsu up because he seemed to have left his cell phone downstairs where he couldn't hear the alert. (And the second alert was quite alarming what with my iPhone and Tetsu's cell phone and the TV alert system going off at the same time.) I let Tetsu sleep and proceeded to fix breakfast. What will be will be.
Earlier this week Tetsu had pointed out a photo in the newspaper of citizens in our city practicing the bomb drill. Does anyone remember the bomb drills we had in school in the early 1960's? I remember we were told to get under our desks in a crouching position and cover our necks with our hands to protect our spinal cords from falling glass. The photo of the city drill was the much the same with people crouching in the park with their hands over the backs of their necks. As if that is going to do anyone any good in a nuclear attack Tetsu pointed out!
So breakfast and the rest of the morning continued as usual with only the TV news blaring out government reports and a large red and black ALERT screen bordering the news commentators until an all clear signal was given nearly an hour later. In actuality, the North Korean missiles had passed over Northern Japan within four minutes of the original alert. That's not a lot of time to prepare is it?
I guess I don't really feel the urgency behind all this but maybe I should. My conclusion to the earthquake disaster that we had 6 years ago was to carry on life normally, that panic and fear could only intensify an emergency situation.
The school children walked to school as usual today. Everyone is going about their business as normal. I have left the TV off.
That's ONE way to start a morning.
Friday, August 25, 2017
McKenna quilts
A couple blog friends wanted to see a close up of the McKenna quilt in my entryway and I am just in time to show a new one that I finished yesterday.
Years ago, a blog friend sent me boxes and boxes of McKenna quilt kits that she had ordered and never made. I think they must have been block of the month kits at one time. She sent me so many of them that I'm not even sure anymore which kit belonged to which series but I love making them!
The Mckenna quilts use mostly batiks and hand dyed fabrics and those are just not found in Japan. Every so often I feel an urge to do the intricate cutting and placing and though it is much like paint-by-number with fabric, the differences in the mottled hand dyed fabrics give the collages a different feel from what is pictured on the pattern cover. When my originality is bummed out from some other project, I like to float back into the simplistic cutting and collage making.
I had finished getting the flimsy made for this before I went to the States and came back to it ready to be machine quilted with mono-filament thread. Freehand quilting gets done in a few hours time and I sewed the binding on yesterday. Up on the wall it goes next to the cottage quilt!
Possibly from this same series is this quilt of a bunny in an herb garden. Mrs. Furui liked this one so much that she was able to use the left-over fabrics and the pattern from this one and just supplied her own background and planter fabric. McKenna is generous with their fabric and often there is a swatch for just a certain flower or two with much left over.
This is one of my favorites and it hangs in my kitchen. I remember my mother watching me as I made it one summer and holding the pieces for me as I collaged. I think I made her a McKenna hummingbird quilt that is still on her wall that same summer.
So, this is my collection so far. I still have more to fall back on whenever the urge overtakes me!
So, this is my collection so far. I still have more to fall back on whenever the urge overtakes me!
Thursday, August 24, 2017
Summer spiders!
So I finally did go out with my camera yesterday morning but it was
quickly growing hot and Choco and I turned around and came home within
minutes.
Even
though I walk basically the same route day in and day out throughout
the year, the scenery changes with the seasons.
Where in the winter is a
broad expanse of the far off mountains this week the corn fields block
the view. (This photo was taken in January of this year.)
I think the corn in these fields is being grown for livestock feed, but we do have very tasty corn in our area.
Okay... Now close your eyes if you don't like spiders!
Near one of the barns housing dairy cows there was layer upon layer upon layer of spider webs and zillions of spiders! I'm sure not going to go walking around there at night where I might become encapsulated by them all! It is bad enough to have one web strand hit me in the face when I go out my front door in the morning with Choco!
And this photo is looking back through all the layers of webs into the morning sunlight. Beautiful? Scary? I'm leaving the spiders alone!
Okay... Now close your eyes if you don't like spiders!
Wednesday, August 23, 2017
iPhone apps
Recently my iPhone usage has changed a bit.
I still use the pedometer daily and then record my steps on Walk4Fun. I'm walking the much too long Pacific Crest Trail right now.
I still play Neko Atsume (which I claim is not a game but just a pastime in the day's intervals.)
While I walk I listen to audio books on the Overdrive app which is a library app and I am enjoying listening to Angle of Repose. It is a long book and excellent but one that would have taken me months to "read" so between driving time and walking time I am going through it quickly.
I have gotten completely drawn in by Duolingo which is a language app, and for quite a few months now (114 straight days of practice! My iPhone keeps track for me and keeps me motivated) I have been studying Spanish daily. Supposedly I am now 25% fluent in Spanish at this date. I am not a fan of games that seem to just waste time but this app has the element of a challenge, the rush of a successful completion of a task, and a hopefully reachable goal to aim for.
Takumi got me started on this app as he has been studying Spanish too for the purposes of understanding Julieta-san's Spanish speaking relatives. I took up the Spanish because I couldn't see the need to study Russian or Turkish and from living in Southern California for much of my life had a slight background of Spanish words... Through Duolingo Takumi and I started our own Spanish study club together and we can see how far each of us has studied. And when Leiya was here she got inspired also and she has joined our Spanish club. And now I see that she has gotten Tony to start studying Spanish too!
Alas, Tetsu is NOT studying Spanish as he has his hands full with studying English through Duolingo on his iPad. (And not making much progress I'm afraid). In the meantime Julieta-san and Tony have started/are thinking about studying Japanese. What a bilingual, tri-lingual family we MAY become...
"Ha llovido mucho este verano."
which means
"It has rained much this summer."
Now... how often is that phrase going to be useful to me? At least I learned it before this rainy summer has ended...
Takumi got me started on this app as he has been studying Spanish too for the purposes of understanding Julieta-san's Spanish speaking relatives. I took up the Spanish because I couldn't see the need to study Russian or Turkish and from living in Southern California for much of my life had a slight background of Spanish words... Through Duolingo Takumi and I started our own Spanish study club together and we can see how far each of us has studied. And when Leiya was here she got inspired also and she has joined our Spanish club. And now I see that she has gotten Tony to start studying Spanish too!
Alas, Tetsu is NOT studying Spanish as he has his hands full with studying English through Duolingo on his iPad. (And not making much progress I'm afraid). In the meantime Julieta-san and Tony have started/are thinking about studying Japanese. What a bilingual, tri-lingual family we MAY become...
"Ha llovido mucho este verano."
which means
"It has rained much this summer."
Now... how often is that phrase going to be useful to me? At least I learned it before this rainy summer has ended...
Tuesday, August 22, 2017
Sunny summer day
Finally a sunny day! It is time to get some laundry hung out!
There was one day when Leiya was here, when I finally had to admit that the sun wasn't going to dry any of our clothes and I took a couple of wet loads of laundry to the laundromat just to use their dryers. It seems everyone was in the same predicament as even though it was only 7:00 AM there were already people there and I found only one dryer available (granted it is a very small laundromat). When, an hour later I came back for my laundry right on the dot, there was someone tapping their feet hoping to grab the dryer herself as soon as I vacated (or before... she was looking like she was ready to move my laundry to a counter...) Leiya asked me if I didn't ever want to own my own dryer and isn't a dryer really a fabric sterilizer with all that heat.
There were many years when we did own a dryer but in all those years I rarely had used it. It mainly was used as a sealed cat food container that the cats couldn't get into... Tetsu is of the school that sunshine and a breeze is the best clothing sterilizer and he scoffs at dryers. As he is usually the person who hangs out the laundry I'm not going to argue with him and I rather like the fresh sun aroma myself though during our rainy season and this summer the laundry has piled up...
I just headed over to our neighbor's house who babysits our cats for us when we are away. I had to go retrieve our house key and deliver some American chocolates that I'd bought them... On their front step was a Kabuto-mushi! A giant Rhinocerous Beetle!
My children used to go looking for these beetles in the forest when they were young and the beetles are even sold in stores in little bug cages and with beetle food. If a house is too small for a dog or a cat how about a nice quiet beetle to keep as a pet? I was thrilled to find a wild one so close to home and after having my picture taken with him deposited him up on a tree branch away from human feet.
I really must get out with my Olympus camera instead of taking my pictures only with my iPhone. I just seem to have my iPhone on my person all the time and photo opportunities come when I least expect them... This morning the fields were green with the clouds settled at the foothills and ready to evaporate with the day's sun...
There was one day when Leiya was here, when I finally had to admit that the sun wasn't going to dry any of our clothes and I took a couple of wet loads of laundry to the laundromat just to use their dryers. It seems everyone was in the same predicament as even though it was only 7:00 AM there were already people there and I found only one dryer available (granted it is a very small laundromat). When, an hour later I came back for my laundry right on the dot, there was someone tapping their feet hoping to grab the dryer herself as soon as I vacated (or before... she was looking like she was ready to move my laundry to a counter...) Leiya asked me if I didn't ever want to own my own dryer and isn't a dryer really a fabric sterilizer with all that heat.
There were many years when we did own a dryer but in all those years I rarely had used it. It mainly was used as a sealed cat food container that the cats couldn't get into... Tetsu is of the school that sunshine and a breeze is the best clothing sterilizer and he scoffs at dryers. As he is usually the person who hangs out the laundry I'm not going to argue with him and I rather like the fresh sun aroma myself though during our rainy season and this summer the laundry has piled up...
*********
Monday, August 21, 2017
More cleaning...
I'm not taking photos recently... I'm not swimming yet... I haven't been in the sewing room yet though I need to make a fabric card for my mother pretty soon... Cleaning Obaachan's apartment made me see my own house differently and I spent all day yesterday giving our tiny dining room and entry way a wipe down. Oh the mold!!! (Every year I say the same thing.)
Speaking of my mother, I gather she survived a short stay at a elder care facility for five days while my brother's family went on vacation. She's used one facility or another four times now and she adjusts better than she did the first time when she was panicky to go home. Marcy said this time she only had the nurse call once and Grandma asked how the family was enjoying their vacation and to let HER MOTHER know that she was away from home for a few days. Who is that Mother? Me?
Tetsu's sister and family stopped by yesterday evening to report back from their trip for Obaachan's funeral. I had just gotten the dining room and entryway put back together after the major cleaning so the place looked (and smelled) pretty good. Tetsu's sister was exhausted and she barely glanced at the place of honor where we've put Obaachan's photo.
"I've been praying to that photo for the past week. I'm tired of it all."
From her comfy position settled in on the sofa she clapped her hands twice in a semi-deferential prayer. (As a good Buddhist she's "supposed to" pray from a kneeling position and light incense but as we only have a tea-leaf burner for room deodorizing purposes Tetsu's sister can pray as she likes.)
Today I'm going to tackle the living room and Japanese room and conquer to mold growing there. I'm afraid my enthusiasm for cleaning will wane before I get the whole house done!
Speaking of my mother, I gather she survived a short stay at a elder care facility for five days while my brother's family went on vacation. She's used one facility or another four times now and she adjusts better than she did the first time when she was panicky to go home. Marcy said this time she only had the nurse call once and Grandma asked how the family was enjoying their vacation and to let HER MOTHER know that she was away from home for a few days. Who is that Mother? Me?
"I've been praying to that photo for the past week. I'm tired of it all."
Sunday, August 20, 2017
Cleaning
The days have sort of gotten mixed up in my mind. I'm not sure what day it is nor how long I have been doing whatever. I suppose we can say that we've gotten a lot done but there is still quite a bit more to do!
As Tetsu's mother lived 15 or some years in the same apartment the first task has been to clean it all out and turn the keys back to the apartment co-op. The superintendent kindly said that there was no rush and that the apartment didn't need to be vacated for another two or three weeks but Tetsu had to be back at work today and his sister, Kei, will go back next week. We all felt that we needed to work quickly.
On Thursday, Kei and her son and Tetsu and I started tossing things. Tetsu's sister was ruthless! Bags and bags and bags of things got dumped as we went through drawers and closets and cupboards.
"Isn't there anything you want to keep?"
Kei lives in an apartment too and so she felt she didn't have space to be sentimental. I'm glad I didn't have to make the tossing decisions and I recalled Marcy's words to me when we cleaned Grandma's casita one summer.
"There are things that can only be done while you are here Tani. I don't know what is meaningful to the family like you do..."
So Kei sat and tossed and I carried bags to the front hall and Tetsu and Ryu carted bags to two cars.
One problem we had was to sort recyclables. The city is very strict about its recycling rules and plastics had to be separated from glass and china, clothing had to be separated from other burnable garbage. Recycling centers were on opposite of the city and in our case Tetsu began the hour drive back to our city's recycling center as it was less stringent about clothing disposal from paper and cardboard. We all worked a full 8 hours on Thursday.
Friday, Tetsu borrowed our neighbor's large truck and began busting up the furniture that we carted out of the apartment. More trips to recycling centers in Kei's car and her daughter's car and the truck and we were exhausted after another 8 hour day.
Saturday the rest of the family took Obaachan's ashes to Tetsu's brother's for a funeral as planned and Tetsu and I spent another day in the apartment and began the cleaning. And yesterday we basically finished up cleaning and brought home things of Obaachan's that he and I thought we might use.
I have mixed feelings about our tossing and cleaning chores. Though Obaachan wasn't a hoarder... she did seem to have a thing for keeping cleaning supplies in great abundance. There were detergents and fabric softeners and paper towels and toilet paper and cleaning sprays in quadruplet and quintuplet supply. Her favorite tool was a pair of long metal tongs that are usually used to pick up garbage on the street but she had at least ten of them, a couple in every room including the bathroom, for picking up things she'd dropped or just giving her a longer reach from the chair that she always sat on. Her closets were stuffed with clothing and winter coats yet she only ever wore the same holey quilted pants and sweater and maybe an apron or two. She hadn't been out of her apartment for practically five years so she didn't NEED the clothes and probably didn't even want them. There were gadgets galore, appliances that no longer worked, push carts and walkers and wheeled shopping buggies.
"Poor Obaachan. She had her rooms stuffed with stuff she didn't know how to get rid of. It's not like she could take them anywhere herself and she was too proud to ask anyone."
I wish we'd noticed and offered...
When cleaning too I kept thinking how Obaachan loved organization, every little thing in her refrigerator and cupboard labeled with the expiration dates in large felt penned characters. Her bathroom and tub room and laundry area were spotless, much cleaner and mold free than my own rooms. There was visible evidence of her attempts to clean walls way up by the ceiling where she would have had to get up on a stepladder to reach...
Like Obaachan, Tetsu is a perfectionist and though the apartment superintendent had told us a cleaning staff would come through after the apartment was vacated, Tetsu wanted us to wash down all the walls, (with one of those magic erasers... an inch at a time!) and wipe out window threads and scrape off Scotch tape residue from where Obaachan had displayed photos. And it is true, things get pretty dirty after 15 years (or 6 months or whatever). I again thought of how happy Obaachan would have been; she who loved keeping things clean and collecting cleaning supplies; if we'd given her apartment such a thorough cleaning while she was alive. The thought that she'd left grime behind would have infuriated her.
Tetsu and I brought home Obaachan's blankets for Choco to use, photo albums, half of the cleaning supplies, a few of the gadgets that still work. In a way it is rather sad that so few things of Obaachan's any of us felt worth saving... On the other hand, I look at the corner of this room where we unloaded the cars and wonder how I'm going to consolidate all this stuff into my own full closets and drawers!
Another lesson learned... My stuff is probably only going to be important to me and I might as well start decluttering my own household. Hopefully I have a few years to do it!
As Tetsu's mother lived 15 or some years in the same apartment the first task has been to clean it all out and turn the keys back to the apartment co-op. The superintendent kindly said that there was no rush and that the apartment didn't need to be vacated for another two or three weeks but Tetsu had to be back at work today and his sister, Kei, will go back next week. We all felt that we needed to work quickly.
On Thursday, Kei and her son and Tetsu and I started tossing things. Tetsu's sister was ruthless! Bags and bags and bags of things got dumped as we went through drawers and closets and cupboards.
"Isn't there anything you want to keep?"
Kei lives in an apartment too and so she felt she didn't have space to be sentimental. I'm glad I didn't have to make the tossing decisions and I recalled Marcy's words to me when we cleaned Grandma's casita one summer.
"There are things that can only be done while you are here Tani. I don't know what is meaningful to the family like you do..."
So Kei sat and tossed and I carried bags to the front hall and Tetsu and Ryu carted bags to two cars.
One problem we had was to sort recyclables. The city is very strict about its recycling rules and plastics had to be separated from glass and china, clothing had to be separated from other burnable garbage. Recycling centers were on opposite of the city and in our case Tetsu began the hour drive back to our city's recycling center as it was less stringent about clothing disposal from paper and cardboard. We all worked a full 8 hours on Thursday.
Friday, Tetsu borrowed our neighbor's large truck and began busting up the furniture that we carted out of the apartment. More trips to recycling centers in Kei's car and her daughter's car and the truck and we were exhausted after another 8 hour day.
Saturday the rest of the family took Obaachan's ashes to Tetsu's brother's for a funeral as planned and Tetsu and I spent another day in the apartment and began the cleaning. And yesterday we basically finished up cleaning and brought home things of Obaachan's that he and I thought we might use.
I have mixed feelings about our tossing and cleaning chores. Though Obaachan wasn't a hoarder... she did seem to have a thing for keeping cleaning supplies in great abundance. There were detergents and fabric softeners and paper towels and toilet paper and cleaning sprays in quadruplet and quintuplet supply. Her favorite tool was a pair of long metal tongs that are usually used to pick up garbage on the street but she had at least ten of them, a couple in every room including the bathroom, for picking up things she'd dropped or just giving her a longer reach from the chair that she always sat on. Her closets were stuffed with clothing and winter coats yet she only ever wore the same holey quilted pants and sweater and maybe an apron or two. She hadn't been out of her apartment for practically five years so she didn't NEED the clothes and probably didn't even want them. There were gadgets galore, appliances that no longer worked, push carts and walkers and wheeled shopping buggies.
"Poor Obaachan. She had her rooms stuffed with stuff she didn't know how to get rid of. It's not like she could take them anywhere herself and she was too proud to ask anyone."
I wish we'd noticed and offered...
When cleaning too I kept thinking how Obaachan loved organization, every little thing in her refrigerator and cupboard labeled with the expiration dates in large felt penned characters. Her bathroom and tub room and laundry area were spotless, much cleaner and mold free than my own rooms. There was visible evidence of her attempts to clean walls way up by the ceiling where she would have had to get up on a stepladder to reach...
Like Obaachan, Tetsu is a perfectionist and though the apartment superintendent had told us a cleaning staff would come through after the apartment was vacated, Tetsu wanted us to wash down all the walls, (with one of those magic erasers... an inch at a time!) and wipe out window threads and scrape off Scotch tape residue from where Obaachan had displayed photos. And it is true, things get pretty dirty after 15 years (or 6 months or whatever). I again thought of how happy Obaachan would have been; she who loved keeping things clean and collecting cleaning supplies; if we'd given her apartment such a thorough cleaning while she was alive. The thought that she'd left grime behind would have infuriated her.
Another lesson learned... My stuff is probably only going to be important to me and I might as well start decluttering my own household. Hopefully I have a few years to do it!
Thursday, August 17, 2017
Too Much Information?
We had Obaachan's cremation ceremony yesterday. It turned out to be just Tetsu, me, his sister, his sister's daughter and her two children.
I gather when Tetsu talked with the mortuary, he informed them that all the customs were to be done in Buddhist style (it's true that Obaachan has always been "Buddhist" and his sister knows no other customs) so everything was done the Buddhist way.
After taking Leiya to catch her bus to the airport I returned to the mortuary and there was a ceremony (officiated by one of the mortuary workers... ) for placing the body in the casket. Hmm... As the deceased is supposed to be going on a journey to the other world, there was a whole set ready for the ceremony... First Japanese split toe socks which we put on the opposite Obaachan's opposite feet so that she wouldn't return from the dead... Okay... Then satin shin guards and wrist guards which are traditional Japanese travel garments A white satiny "kimono" robe was folded over Obaachan. There was supposed to be a triangular headpiece that we could choose to have tied on her forehead but even the mortuary worker said that most people find that accessory eerie and unattractive so we opted out of that. Straw walking sandals were placed at Obaachan's feet, and a wooden walking stick placed in the coffin for help on the journey. A small satiny bag was slipped over her head and it had paper money inside for paying journey fees. You see... It isn't really religious as the worker isn't really affiliated with any Buddhist sect... All the ceremony implements just came in the "package". The room decorations which included gongs and incense burners were all Buddhist implements.
I guess Tetsu asked if there are ever any Christian ceremonies held at the mortuary and the man said that in all the years he'd worked there, there had only been one ceremony which had been Catholic. Maybe Christian funerals are mostly held in churches?
Tetsu took another night shift that night too at the mortuary.
Yesterday morning I arrived dressed in formal black and Tetsu's sister's family came soon after. We had another small ceremony placing one of Obaachan's nice sweaters and slacks inside the casket and then surrounding her with flowers. Finally we were off to the crematorium.
Years ago when Marcy's mother passed away and was cremated I had asked about the ceremony and Marcy had looked at me strange and said,
"What ceremony? I was just called and asked where the ashes were to be delivered for the funeral."
I guess I've been in Japan too long because I was very surprised as the Japanese cremation ceremony is a very important one...
The city crematorium is an ultra modern place settled in a forest. There is a motorized, computerized trolley that s-l-o-w-l-y rolls the casket from hearse to the building. There must be six actual incinerators (is that what they are called?) and the computerized screen is checked by the staff and by Tetsu of course at each door passage. We were admitted into a stark but beautiful room lit from ceiling to floor with a glassed-in bamboo garden and a small running water fountain that splashed on black rocks. The set up was again Buddhist and after more incense burning and a final goodbye the casket was lifted by trolley into the incinerator (that word again...) Obaachan's picture and the urns were locked-in at the outer door so that it was impossible to have any mis-identification. At this point we were invited to wait in a cheerful sun-lit lobby and given small paper cups of osake which is considered for purification.
While we waited, Tetsu filled in paper work and I wandered around taking photos... His sister bought snacks at the little snack bar for her two granddaughters. I was surprised to see small urns on the snack bar shelves... next to chocolates and potato chips.... I guess there must be people who make a spontaneous decision to divy up ashes when at the crematorium...
About an hour later we were all called back to the original private room where the incinerator was opened and another ceremony could be performed... Do you really want to hear this?
Tetsu even asked me at this point if I wanted to skip this ceremony and stand in the background during it but I sort of knew what we were heading for and I figure at my age I can experience anything... I was surprised though that the little grand daughters were expected to take part. 5 and 8 seem a little young for something so "scary".
Anyway... We all gathered around the trolley and there was Obaachan's bones all spread out as she lay. Yes! Did you know that ashes aren't really ashes in Japan? They are bones! Granted some have broken up a bit in the intense heat but there is no mistaking some of them... and they are all there where they are supposed to be. Okay... This could be right out of a Halloween film...
We stepped back again while the staff gathered up large bones in large metal dustpans and transferred them to a large marble slab for the next part of the ceremony. We were all called back again and given long chopsticks and were instructed to transfer the bones into the two urns leaving the skull bones for last (which staff had nicely separated for us.) In twos, Tetsu and me, Tetsu's sister and her daughter who helped the children, we lifted bones into the urns.
By the way... This is why one NEVER transfers food from chopsticks to chopsticks when eating. Two pairs of chopsticks holding something is reminiscent of the bone lifting ceremony!
When both urns were packed in and the staff had pressed them down and packed them well, we were given an anatomy lesson before packing away the skull bones.
"These are the ear bones... You can see the small hole in the side of the skull. These are the eye socket bones... they have broken down a bit in the incinerator. This is the nose bone, and of course this is the jaw bone. Here is the chin and this is the Adam's apple bone... Your loved one had very strong bones (for 92!) and so many of them have remained. This is unusual because females and the very old often have weaker bones that don't remain after cremation."
I guess we were supposed to feel proud of our loved one's strong bones.
Tetsu said he feared that I was going to burst out laughing at the "anatomy" lesson but I can control myself better than that. I did admit that knowing that no one was looking at me my mouth was grimacing and my eyebrows were shooting up in surprise throughout the explanation.
The final ashes left on the metal slab were swept into a dust pan and deposited into the urn, and then we were handed the two urns that had both been boxed away in satin. The crematorium staff came with us to the parking lot and then bowed to us and stayed bowed as we drove away...
Okay! One more thing done that in America would have been completed with a phone call.
Tetsu's sister and family go to Tetsu's brother's house for a formal family funeral today. We have the smaller urn which we will eventually take to Morioka. Until then, we have set up a small table with Obaachan's picture and urn, a cross and a silk flower. Nothing like mixing customs here. Tetsu laughs and says Obaachan is going to be confused.
I am more concerned that the cats, who used to sleep on this low chest, are going to be angry that it is being used as Obaachan's place of honor and that they are going to knock things over or worse yet pee on things.
We'd better schedule a trip to Morioka in the very near future!
I gather when Tetsu talked with the mortuary, he informed them that all the customs were to be done in Buddhist style (it's true that Obaachan has always been "Buddhist" and his sister knows no other customs) so everything was done the Buddhist way.
After taking Leiya to catch her bus to the airport I returned to the mortuary and there was a ceremony (officiated by one of the mortuary workers... ) for placing the body in the casket. Hmm... As the deceased is supposed to be going on a journey to the other world, there was a whole set ready for the ceremony... First Japanese split toe socks which we put on the opposite Obaachan's opposite feet so that she wouldn't return from the dead... Okay... Then satin shin guards and wrist guards which are traditional Japanese travel garments A white satiny "kimono" robe was folded over Obaachan. There was supposed to be a triangular headpiece that we could choose to have tied on her forehead but even the mortuary worker said that most people find that accessory eerie and unattractive so we opted out of that. Straw walking sandals were placed at Obaachan's feet, and a wooden walking stick placed in the coffin for help on the journey. A small satiny bag was slipped over her head and it had paper money inside for paying journey fees. You see... It isn't really religious as the worker isn't really affiliated with any Buddhist sect... All the ceremony implements just came in the "package". The room decorations which included gongs and incense burners were all Buddhist implements.
I guess Tetsu asked if there are ever any Christian ceremonies held at the mortuary and the man said that in all the years he'd worked there, there had only been one ceremony which had been Catholic. Maybe Christian funerals are mostly held in churches?
Tetsu took another night shift that night too at the mortuary.
Yesterday morning I arrived dressed in formal black and Tetsu's sister's family came soon after. We had another small ceremony placing one of Obaachan's nice sweaters and slacks inside the casket and then surrounding her with flowers. Finally we were off to the crematorium.
Years ago when Marcy's mother passed away and was cremated I had asked about the ceremony and Marcy had looked at me strange and said,
"What ceremony? I was just called and asked where the ashes were to be delivered for the funeral."
I guess I've been in Japan too long because I was very surprised as the Japanese cremation ceremony is a very important one...
We stepped back again while the staff gathered up large bones in large metal dustpans and transferred them to a large marble slab for the next part of the ceremony. We were all called back again and given long chopsticks and were instructed to transfer the bones into the two urns leaving the skull bones for last (which staff had nicely separated for us.) In twos, Tetsu and me, Tetsu's sister and her daughter who helped the children, we lifted bones into the urns.
By the way... This is why one NEVER transfers food from chopsticks to chopsticks when eating. Two pairs of chopsticks holding something is reminiscent of the bone lifting ceremony!
When both urns were packed in and the staff had pressed them down and packed them well, we were given an anatomy lesson before packing away the skull bones.
"These are the ear bones... You can see the small hole in the side of the skull. These are the eye socket bones... they have broken down a bit in the incinerator. This is the nose bone, and of course this is the jaw bone. Here is the chin and this is the Adam's apple bone... Your loved one had very strong bones (for 92!) and so many of them have remained. This is unusual because females and the very old often have weaker bones that don't remain after cremation."
I guess we were supposed to feel proud of our loved one's strong bones.
Tetsu said he feared that I was going to burst out laughing at the "anatomy" lesson but I can control myself better than that. I did admit that knowing that no one was looking at me my mouth was grimacing and my eyebrows were shooting up in surprise throughout the explanation.
The final ashes left on the metal slab were swept into a dust pan and deposited into the urn, and then we were handed the two urns that had both been boxed away in satin. The crematorium staff came with us to the parking lot and then bowed to us and stayed bowed as we drove away...
Okay! One more thing done that in America would have been completed with a phone call.
Tetsu's sister and family go to Tetsu's brother's house for a formal family funeral today. We have the smaller urn which we will eventually take to Morioka. Until then, we have set up a small table with Obaachan's picture and urn, a cross and a silk flower. Nothing like mixing customs here. Tetsu laughs and says Obaachan is going to be confused.
We'd better schedule a trip to Morioka in the very near future!
Tuesday, August 15, 2017
Saying good-bye
Well... We had a rough week.
Tetsu's mother passed away last night. My goodness, it seems like it was days ago but it hasn't even been 24 hours.
After Leiya and I came back to Tochigi we set about spending time with Obaachan while at the same time giving Leiya some happy things to look back upon also. Leiya was able to spend a day with some friends from jr. high school, we took her to our favorite Pot Stickers restaurant, we did a minimal amount of shopping... mostly for essentials... We saw a couple of neighbors and friends... but basically we daily orbited around the hospital.
Obaachan was aware that Leiya was visiting but never had a "conversation" with her. Most of her last few days she spent sleeping.
This may seem strange to Western cultures, but from first learning that Obaachan had cancer I had been hoping that Tetsu and I would be able to take her ashes to Morioka where we have our own grave (our first daughter being interred there). Obaachan lived most of her life in Morioka, she was the only one of our family who had ever met our baby, and Obaachan herself had grumpily told me a couple of years ago, that she sure didn't want to be put in Tetsu's brother's grave as she'd never lived in that city and didn't know anyone there. I have always told her that we wanted her ashes with us someday and that she really needed to put her wishes in writing... which she never did. So there we were with the inevitable looming, and Tetsu's sister outright asked Obaachan (before she even knew she had cancer) where she wanted her ashes to go. Tetsu's sister too heard the response that she wanted to be in Morioka but we still had Tetsu's elder brother, who holds the authority over such matters, to contend with. He reluctantly agreed that he might consider dividing Obaachan's ashes... if we would do such-and-such and so forth. Tetsu said forget it. It wasn't that important to him.
But it was important to me, which Tetsu (and Leiya) thought strange. Why would I, a Christian, who doesn't even believe that the soul is in that little grave, want Obaachan to share our grave with us? One, because I'd heard her express that desire and two, for Tetsu's sake... He who will not go to his brother's family grave (too complicated to explain). I wanted us to have somewhere where he could feel his mother was still with us.
"Tetsu, you know perfectly well I don't really care about where Obaachan's ashes go. But I do care about where her soul is going and I want it with us in heaven."
The first evening that Leiya and I had come back to visit Obaachan in the hospital, Tetsu and his sister who had been with her all day said that Obaachan had awakened enough to say clearly that she wanted her ashes divided and taken to Morioka.
"Yes! All right Obaachan! Don't you worry, you are going to be with us and with Maya-chan (our daughter) in Morioka! And Obaachan I want you in eternity with us too."
So I prayed aloud near Obaachan's head asking that she would recognize Jesus' love because of experiencing His love that flowed through us. At the end of my prayer she quietly breathed "Amen" which I take as her confession of faith and I looked up at everyone else in the room and said,
"You heard it! She said Amen. As far as I'm concerned Obaachan's place is set in heaven."
Okay... So I'm a pushy Christian.
Yesterday afternoon Leiya and I could tell that Obaachan was failing and I texted Tetsu and suggested that he stay the night with her in the hospital room. He arrived after work around 6:30 and shooed the rest of us away. HE wanted to take the watch duty, and he really wanted to do it alone. His sister and Leiya and I had dinner together and then we went home.
And about an hour later got the call from Tetsu that Obaachan had passed.
Back we went to the hospital and with the nurses we all washed Obaachan's body together and dressed her in clean pajamas. It was a good activity, one of feeling like we were blessing her and loving her and seeing her through to the end. She was taken to the mortuary where we all spent a couple more hours together, finally leaving Tetsu to complete his night watch... just in a different manner. This morning Leiya left to return to Ohio...
I am so glad that Leiya was here this week. I am so glad that she was able to love and care for Obaachan and didn't have to leave before it was all over. I am glad Tetsu got to do what he felt was his filial duty. I am glad that Leiya's cousin is back in our lives because of Obaachan's illness. I am grateful that I made it back to Japan to watch over her and to learn about living and dying and loving and faith.
This last month of Obaachan's life though difficult for her, was a gift to her family. The purpose in the seemingly hopeless days was a gift of teaching us about ourselves and about what we can do that we didn't think we could do, and what we feel about Obaachan and about each other.
I feel very privileged to have been a part of Obaachan's life.
We are all good, and we are all happy.
Tetsu's mother passed away last night. My goodness, it seems like it was days ago but it hasn't even been 24 hours.
After Leiya and I came back to Tochigi we set about spending time with Obaachan while at the same time giving Leiya some happy things to look back upon also. Leiya was able to spend a day with some friends from jr. high school, we took her to our favorite Pot Stickers restaurant, we did a minimal amount of shopping... mostly for essentials... We saw a couple of neighbors and friends... but basically we daily orbited around the hospital.
Obaachan was aware that Leiya was visiting but never had a "conversation" with her. Most of her last few days she spent sleeping.
This may seem strange to Western cultures, but from first learning that Obaachan had cancer I had been hoping that Tetsu and I would be able to take her ashes to Morioka where we have our own grave (our first daughter being interred there). Obaachan lived most of her life in Morioka, she was the only one of our family who had ever met our baby, and Obaachan herself had grumpily told me a couple of years ago, that she sure didn't want to be put in Tetsu's brother's grave as she'd never lived in that city and didn't know anyone there. I have always told her that we wanted her ashes with us someday and that she really needed to put her wishes in writing... which she never did. So there we were with the inevitable looming, and Tetsu's sister outright asked Obaachan (before she even knew she had cancer) where she wanted her ashes to go. Tetsu's sister too heard the response that she wanted to be in Morioka but we still had Tetsu's elder brother, who holds the authority over such matters, to contend with. He reluctantly agreed that he might consider dividing Obaachan's ashes... if we would do such-and-such and so forth. Tetsu said forget it. It wasn't that important to him.
But it was important to me, which Tetsu (and Leiya) thought strange. Why would I, a Christian, who doesn't even believe that the soul is in that little grave, want Obaachan to share our grave with us? One, because I'd heard her express that desire and two, for Tetsu's sake... He who will not go to his brother's family grave (too complicated to explain). I wanted us to have somewhere where he could feel his mother was still with us.
"Tetsu, you know perfectly well I don't really care about where Obaachan's ashes go. But I do care about where her soul is going and I want it with us in heaven."
The first evening that Leiya and I had come back to visit Obaachan in the hospital, Tetsu and his sister who had been with her all day said that Obaachan had awakened enough to say clearly that she wanted her ashes divided and taken to Morioka.
"Yes! All right Obaachan! Don't you worry, you are going to be with us and with Maya-chan (our daughter) in Morioka! And Obaachan I want you in eternity with us too."
So I prayed aloud near Obaachan's head asking that she would recognize Jesus' love because of experiencing His love that flowed through us. At the end of my prayer she quietly breathed "Amen" which I take as her confession of faith and I looked up at everyone else in the room and said,
"You heard it! She said Amen. As far as I'm concerned Obaachan's place is set in heaven."
Okay... So I'm a pushy Christian.
Yesterday afternoon Leiya and I could tell that Obaachan was failing and I texted Tetsu and suggested that he stay the night with her in the hospital room. He arrived after work around 6:30 and shooed the rest of us away. HE wanted to take the watch duty, and he really wanted to do it alone. His sister and Leiya and I had dinner together and then we went home.
And about an hour later got the call from Tetsu that Obaachan had passed.
I am so glad that Leiya was here this week. I am so glad that she was able to love and care for Obaachan and didn't have to leave before it was all over. I am glad Tetsu got to do what he felt was his filial duty. I am glad that Leiya's cousin is back in our lives because of Obaachan's illness. I am grateful that I made it back to Japan to watch over her and to learn about living and dying and loving and faith.
This last month of Obaachan's life though difficult for her, was a gift to her family. The purpose in the seemingly hopeless days was a gift of teaching us about ourselves and about what we can do that we didn't think we could do, and what we feel about Obaachan and about each other.
I feel very privileged to have been a part of Obaachan's life.
We are all good, and we are all happy.
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