Belated Merry Christmas!!!

Well, I know I haven't posted in ages but so much has gone on. After I visited my father in September I cut my foot really deeply with the blade of the new food processor he gave me. I got to ride in an ambulance for the first time and everything! I ended up getting seven stitches in my foot and had to stay off of it for about 2 weeks but I'm fine now.

We are presently in the US for Christmas but are on our way back to Japan in just 2 more days, My dad is doing better after feeling horrible from 2 rounds of chemotherapy but has decided to not do chemo any more and just manage the cancer as best as possible since it is inoperable.

Things are stable at least for now so we just have to take one day at a time.

Here's wishing everyone a happy, healthy and prosperous 2008.

Off to see Dad...

Well, last weekend my father was told by his regular internist that he probably only has six weeks. That was a shock and upset him and all of us but after he talked to the nurse practitioner and his oncologist they told him that tat doctor had been wrong to say that. Now my dad has decided to enter in an experimental chemotherapy trial to see if it can give him a little more time. Hopefully it won't make him feel too sick and if it does he says he will quit it. We'll see how that goes.
Anyway, I am off next week to see him for four days and hopefully that will go all right. I will miss H's Sports Day at school but there is nothing I can do about it. S will have to handle it on his own and luckily the one night S has the night shift my friend K will keep him even though she is soooo busy. I really appreciate her help.

Nothing Much Going On...

Well, today is just another routine day, sending H off to school, doing some translation work and shopping for dinner. I'm just anxious to see what happens with my dad. It doesn't seem real somehow. I guess it is just something to face and deal with the best I can. That is about all I can do.
I am wondering also how S and H are going to handle it all. It can't be easy for a 10 year old and DH hasn't had a father around since he was a small boy. We will all just have to support each other through this.

My Kaiketsu Zorori

My Kaiketsu Zorori
Originally uploaded by caroljiwa

This is a picture taken a year and a half ago but it reminds me of DS's creativity and silly sense of humor. It also show his innocence at that age. He is 10 now and growing up fast. He even took the costume on a trip to Washington DC just to surprise my mom with it!

Anyway, this photo is a great memory for me and I can't wait to show it to his children someday.

Horrible News

I was totally shocked yesterday morning when my father called me to tell me that he has stage 4 lung cancer and probably only has 3 to 6 months to live. He is undergoing treatment in the US right now and hopefully that will buy him more time but I feel just awful being so far away. I guess all I can do is do what he asks of me and try to help his wife with anything that she needs. Hopefully I will be able to go and visit him for a bit next month.

It seems like a lot of my friends parents are getting sick and passing away as well.I guess it's just that time in our lives and we have to deal with it.

Back in the Sauna called Japan

Well, we are all back here in Japan after nearly a month in the US and boy is it hot and humid here! It is nice to be in my own home and everything but this year is especially hot and I don't even want to go outside to do anything. We did have a fun time with my family and H has finally made some friends in the neighborhood so now he'll be abel to look forward to seeing them when we go back again. S enjoyed his usual paragliding even though the flying wasn't as good as usual. I enjoyed just relaxing and not doing much of anything since I am so busy all of the time here.

Anyway, we missed out dog while we gone so it is nice to have her lying on my feet as I type. She is getting old so who knows how much longer she'll be with us.

This is a picture of her with H taken a couple of years ago, so it is not recent but I really like it. She is a pretty dog and it will be sad to see her go downhill since she is aging quickly :-(. Having pets can be a really hard thing. H will probably be the most shocked when she goes since we got her the year before he was born. I hope we can get S to agree to have another dog in the future.

That's about all for now. In just 2 weeks school starts again and we will be back to the super busy life again.

Rainy Days and Field Trips get me down..

Well, the 4th graders at the school, including H are off on their overnight trip. It's too bad it's raining. I hope the weather is better for them tomorrow so they can go hiking as planned. I did my best to prepare a nice Japanese lunch for H to take with him so none of his friends make comments on what his crazy Gaijin mom made for him. I will never get the hang of making a perfect rice ball! And I all do besides that is add some steamed broccolli, a hard boiled egg and some cut up fruit for dessert. I will miss the little bugger tonight. There will be noone to nag!

Anyway, I did enjoy a lovely trip to COSTCO with M L and a Japanese friend today. I love getting all of the nice things there! We will be eating a lot of meat in the next few weeks.

First Post

Well, this is the first time I'm making a blog entry. Life is always busy here in our house. H going to school, soccer practice and Juku (cram school to prepare for entrance exams to private school), S paragliding and going to work and me with all of the various freelance jobs I do and volunteering for the English program at the local elementary school and neighborhood children's association. Life is never dull. In about 2 weeks from now a 16 year old boy from my hometown will be here for a 5 week homestay. He'll be at our house for the first 4 nights. I hope that he has a great time in Japan. It will be interesting to see how he views everything. Since I have been living in Japan for over 20 years I think I have become too used to everything and miss a lot of stuff that may actually be interesting.

I am so grateful for the group of friends I have made here that are in the same situation as I am as I feel only they can really understand the every day struggles of life here as a foreigner living in Japan long term married to a Japanese and trying to fit into a society that will somehow never totally accept you.

I hope that this isn't rambling too much and anyway, this is just a start of a record of my everyday life here.