Busy Bees!

We like being busy. I think I actually function better physically and mentally when I am busy. This photo is from a play day we had with friends this past weekend. Lucy wasn't feeling really good. But just being around friends, hers and mine, lifts our spirits. This week promises to be crazy busy, but equally fun. Yesterday we started practices for a Missoula Children's Theatre production of Little Mermaid. Lucy will grace the stage as a tap-dancing, singing, neighing seahorse! Most of the kids in the production are not native English speakers, so they have been practicing their lines and songs once a week for about 3 months. This week, two professional actors from Montana are hear to add the movements, enthusiasm and costumes. Every day this week, we will practice from 5 to 9 after school. By Saturday, fully ready or not, they will do two performances at Kyushu Gakuin's Junior High School Hall. Wish us luck and extra doses of energy!

Beautiful Babies!

"Everyone is having a second baby," my daughter said today. Followed by, as you can guess, "I want a baby too." But when I asked her why, she was quiet for a minute or two then said, "No, actually, I don't need a baby." Phew! When we were on holiday, we borrowed some books from the local library, and if she had gotten her way, we would have brought home 8 books about babies and how babies are born (some with overly detailed explanations!). I only let her take home 2, but we read them over and over again, with brief speed reading on the How-2 parts. Today, she said she doesn't mind just playing with friends babies and getting Mom and Dad's 100 percent attention otherwise. My thoughts exactly! One seems to be just enough for us. We will do our best to raise a half-balanced little girl, and then I will do my part in helping raise other kids through my teaching.

New Playground!

This is Lucy testing out her monkey legs on the monkey bars at her new Day Care. I don't think I should tell her that the first bone I ever broke was the result of falling off the top of a park jungle gym when I was six.

New old toys!

What people spend their money on frivolously has a lot to say about them, I think. So, what does it mean when I can't help but buy nostalgic old toys and picture books when I rummage through garage sales, antique shops or flea markets? Well, maybe the fact that I shop at these places tells a little about my character and spendthrift ways. Ever since college, I have been a fan of thrift stores. Still have an old leather belt that I bought nearly 15 years ago that is yet my favorite (though it has widened a few notches in the past couple years). When I first came to Japan, I collected traditional Japanese things. Now that I've been here a while, I crave the nostalgia of home, and have decorated my home with retro toys and dishes. That last sentence might say it all. I can't decide which side of the Pacific to call my "home!"

What do you collect or spend your money on foolishly, feverishly?

Hey Freshers!

I have just finished my first week of university classes. Yesterday, I learned one of Japan's first politically correct word alternatives. The new gender-free label for incoming university students and newly hired employees is, instead of "Freshmen", "FRESHERS." Weird! My student asked me, what a "fresher" might be in real English. If someone told me, "He is a fresher," I think I would take one step back and keep my distance from thim forever more. If it were a girl and I was told, "She is a fresher," I think I would warn any self-respecting boys to stay away from her. What do you think?

Once again, seeing the bright eyed freshers on campus reminds me of the fun times I had my first year away from home, testing the limits of everything I had been taught. Surviving this year of experimenting, I remember the feeling I see in the second year students, what we called "sophomore blues," knowing what was ahead and dreading that you still had 3 more years of it left! Yet, when a question of, "Which is more exciting, high school or university?" it was unanimously clear that the freshers don't know the fun of freedom and exploration that awaits them in the year ahead.

A couple university memories I flashed back to this week:
1. Late night hallway chats with the girls in my dormitory.
2. My first college boyfriends try at impressing me with my first bottle of wine, a French label bearing my name, St. Michel. (This, in the end was the peak of his charm, I learned! Oh, he did introduce me to Depeche Mode)
3. Meeting 2 of my coolest friends, Shelley and Cari.
4. Sneaking into my friend's family owned Baskin Robbins 31 Ice Cream shop after hours for big spoon taste testing!
5. Sledding down Guadalupe Hill on cafeteria trays in the winter.
6. Mud football in the spring.

Guess where I spent spring break?

I wait for people to ask me how my spring break was. "Paradise!" I answer. My daughter, Lucy, and I (sorry Daddy!) spent 18 days in Kona, Hawaii in March. Before, I had no sincere desire to visit Hawaii, imagining it to be an endless tour trap. I was pleasantly, shockingly surprised at how wrong I was, and realize why so many Japanese and Americans flock there. Beautiful, comfortable, and slow paced....what else can you ask from a vacation. And, must I mention that we had the most wonderful hosts: my parents. Everyone I have told has expressed their jealousy in hearing that my father was taking a 6-month part-time job on the big island of Hawaii. Boogie Boarding, snorkeling, parasailing, sea kayaking, watching hot lava flow into the ocean..I don't think they have much left undone! And, during our stay, we tried our best to fit as much as we could in too. I only wish Japanese would admire my tan! By far, the highlight for me was snorkeling. I am not a great swimmer, but seeing the amazing colors fish and corals, I can see why so many people want to go deeper and see more by scuba diving. The island was an eyeful of bright, warm colors. Now, too, I can see why you would want to dress the part in flowered shirts and leis. Maybe I should give credit where it's due, because the most uplifting part of the whole trip was downtime with my parents and my brother's precious family. I look forward to our next family trip!

Chim Chimney Jim!

Funny what grandkids can bring out in their grandparents! This photo shows a classic Grandpa Jim evening. We got burgers and cokes from the drive-thru and drove out to a small beach to picnic, stroll on the beach and watch the surfers ride out the sunset. Reminds me of grilled cheese dinners from Lu's at Washoe park, or cheddar cheese and salami on the trail somewhere as a kid. The best scene, however, had to be when I left Lucy with Grandma and Grandpa for a couple hours while I did some shopping, and came home to see them all on the sofa watching Mary Poppins. Grandpa, who we can never usually get to watch a video with us, was singing along to the tap dancing chimney sweeps! We are forever grateful for Dad's generosity during the week that my brother and his family joined us and we were spoiled with a beach front condo! You should go back just to read Zeke and Cindy's poetry in the guest book!

GRANDMA'S GIFT

It is so much fun to see Lucy with my mother! I wish I could make Lucy enjoy tedious tasks as much as she does! When Grandma says,
"Let's change the bed sheets, water the garden or go pick 120 plumeria blossoms and string a lei," she always gets Lucy's full attention and excitement. Magic! I know the pleasure was reciprocal for all, as Lucy loved being spoiled, Grandma loved the doting, and I loved watching them as I escaped into a book and soaked up sun. Super sweet is to see Lucy giving her Grandma serious, almost professional, massages in her pretend massage parlor. (Lucy actually made a bit of cash collecting coins from Grandma each time!)

Time at home is never long enough to finish all the mother-daughter, "women's wisdom" talks I cherish. Mom, I look forward to your comments here, and your stories of the journey you have waiting for you back in Montana!

HOLIDAY HANGOVER!

I have been back from Hawaii for two weeks now, and find it hard to get back in the work mode and big city pace. Nevertheless, I appreciate every ounce of "Holiday" for all it is: retreat, reflection and refreshment. The loyal flowering trees and bushes in my garden are coming alive with bright red, fuchsia, yellow and pale purple blossoms. If I could shrink myself down or magically expand them to 10 times their own size, I can pretend I am back in Kona for a few moments. Memories and anticipation for our next adventure will keep me energized for a while. THANKS a million to my parents for taking their little island holiday so we could ours!

Spring Butterflies

HELLO AGAIN! Spring is here, which means butterflies. Not the pretty things that flutter around the flowers, but the nerves that fill my stomach this time of year. In Japan, Spring is the new beginning of so many things. Most importantly for this household is the new school year. I am feeling the usual semester-start jitters of excitement and apprehension about standing before 10 new classes of university students. I will be doing the usual song, dance and "Don't be shy" pep talk, but I still manage to get nervous however many I times I do it. This week, Lucy also started at a new school, the neighborhood Day Care Center. For the entrance ceremony, she seemed confident and excited. But after her first full day on Monday, she breaks into tears a handful of times a day there, and then every time we talk about it at home. I know she will be over it and loving it before long, but I feel so bad leaving her at the school entrance as she says, "Don't leave me Mommy!"

With all the jitters, there is also a sense of renewed determination. Thus, the belated return to blogging. Haven't figured out how to download photos on our new computer, but have a load of photos of our holiday in Hawaii and Lucy's new school for you loyal readers to look forward to in the next couple weeks. How is everyone out there doing?