July 4th Weekend

So, it is July 4th weekend and reading everyone's posts on facebook about picnics, races, fireworks, and more makes me miss being in the US on this holiday. I am not super patriotic, but I definitely will not be seeing fireworks like I do at the Standiford/Scott annual firework party. I always told Kan if we ever moved from Lexington where my family lives, I would rather go home for fourth of July than any other holiday because it is such a fun weekend in Lexington with the Bluegrass 10,000, the Standiford party, and my own family getting together for the weekend. So, we have decided to make a weekend of it here in Tokyo. Kan is taking off Monday and Tuesday. Chances are he will have to work some on Monday, but hopefully just from home. On Monday I have two ideas - we will either go to Odaiba in the afternoon and hang out at the man-made beach and enjoy burgers from our favorite burger joint in Tokyo. Or, we will go to Midtown Park in Roppongi and let Miyako play in the fountains and then have dinner at TGI Friday's. I wonder if they have grilled hot dogs on their menu in Tokyo for the fourth?! Tuesday we have two more options of family fun. We are either going to brave the heat and go to Tokyo Disneyland. We had told Miyako before Kei came we would take her to Disney, but due to the earthquake and an unplanned trip to the US, we never got around to it. However, it is blazing hot here. When I say hot, imagine walking out the door and immediately sweating and then instead of getting in your AC car you walk 15 minutes to the train station and get on a not so cool train due to energy conservation. It is hot folks. So, I am not sure if we will do Disney. Our indoor option is to go to the Anpanman museum. Either way, we are having some family fun this weekend for the fourth of July.

I have many many days where I long for the comforts of the US. Simple things like my baby furniture we had with Miyako (where my diaper changing table did not mean leaning over my bed and my lower back hurting a bit), a yard, a car, English labels on foods so I could read nutritional info, English in general (HA), family vacation, July 4th picnics, fireworks - etc. All of these things, when I think upon them, really make me long for America...not necessarily Lexington, but America. But as Kan and I were talking just two nights ago, if we cannot be happy with where God has us, we will never be happy. We will be 90 years old and look back on our lives and wonder what we did with our time. It will be very sad to look back on if this is the case...us always wanting more. Because we know that if we had a job back in America in a big city like we desire, there will be things that will not be perfect and we will say, "if only I had this." Until we are satisfied with where God has us and what He has given us, we will always be searching for the greener grass.

So, as I read the facebook status updates of all the fun things happening this weekend back in the good ole US of A, I will focus on what I have - a healthy family of four with some fun activities to look forward to...and boy do I have so much more than that - I have the grace of God which means forgiveness and freedom, the true freedom, that we all long for deep in our souls.