Sigh

My dress is finished. 

Just in time for...  a wedding delay...
 
Julieta called me this morning and as you can imagine she was in a sad mood.  It has become inevitable that the May wedding plans have to be put on hold, though she and Takumi and her mother will make the final decision this weekend.  She just wanted to let me know that she didn't think it was going to be possible to continue any longer as planned.

Of course this is not a surprise.  It was rather, who was going to make the decision.  The governments?  The airlines?  Tetsu and me?  Takumi and Julieta?

I had already been considering what arrangements needed to be made for our animals in the event that we'd have to leave Japan suddenly and possibly not get back to Japan for months (if travel bans were begun while we were away).  My cat sitters promised to do whatever they could.  The vet promised to take John on a moment's notice.  Tetsu was urging me to go to the States alone as with US citizenship I could probably get into the country more easily, but I wasn't happy with that idea because if we were going to miss this wedding, I thought we should miss it together.  It would be too sad to leave Tetsu alone in Japan while the rest of us went to a wedding.  But there were the questions of airline cancellations, the problem of travel insurance during these times, family from other parts of the States trying to get to California and then Mexico...  It just seemed that the problems were piling up.

I think yesterday California was put on emergency status and it is no longer really possible for ANYONE to be flying to Mexico.  I suggested a small wedding in someone's backyard without Tetsu and me but Julieta said that groups of more than 10 people weren't being allowed and she didn't want her elderly relatives even trying to gather in small groups.  She was just too flustered to think things through this morning.  Maybe try for a December wedding?

I commiserated with her as well as I was able.  I suggested they go ahead and get married in the court and have their ceremony and reception NEXT year in May as a celebration of one year of marriage.  (I would never believe I actually suggested a court wedding as I've always believed the religious ceremony is the "real" wedding.)  I don't know what Takumi and Julieta are going to do...  And I feel very bad for Julieta.

But so far all of us are still healthy and that is something to be happy about.  Now to focus on STAYING healthy.  All of us!

So, yesterday I put the final stitches on the dress I had been making.  Mrs. Waki had been concerned too with getting this dress done in time in case I needed to fly away suddenly and she worked hard to get everything basted and ready for me to just do the final hem stitching.  She is such a professional!

As I worked, I noticed all the details that she put into this dress...

The basting along the inside of the hem slit...  She taught me how to do "star" stitching to tack down the lining so it doesn't fly away from the hem.  The "star" stitching are the little dots along the lining.  I removed the longer basting stitches from the lining and from the dress after I finished sewing the star stitching.

And inside the hem, in two or three places, I found this "string" of crocheted cording that Mrs. Waki made and sewed onto the seamline, also to keep the lining from riding up when putting on the dress.

But now my beautiful dress will be put away for a few months until the world heals itself and we can plan celebrations again. 

I have such mixed emotions today.  So sad that this happy occasion is on hold.  So happy that my children have found wonderful spouses to share trials and joys with.  Our love is not hindered by crisis.