Scrapbook Day, August 2012

I realize I did not post a scrapbook day for July 2012 this year. I think I did plenty of posting of our fun with cousin Shelbs so I am not going to go back in time on that day. Come to think of it, it was the day AFTER we hiked fuji-san. I spent the day complaining of how sore I was and talking about how amazing the climb was. So, there you go...onto August 12, 2012. It was Sunday and Papa had translation for church, so I thought I would help him out and get the kids out of the house while he worked on the translation. We went to a local park and it was a bit overcast, but I did not take the rain gear. I was not in the best mood - tired from the day before - and God has a funny sense of humor - as it rained, downpour, for about 10 minutes while we were at the park. We got soaked! We walked home wet, stopped at the grocery, and when we left for church at 3 the sun was brightly shining. Oh well. We had curry for dinner that night as friends from church came over afterwards. We lit some small sparklers from the 100 yen shop. And after getting the kids in bed, and a nice chat on the balcony, hubby and I tuned into season one of Lost and finished it. Any Lost fans out there? We just finished Season 1 and I am still skeptical. As you can see, August 12th was just a typical day. But the day before was full of buzz around our apartment. Legoland opened at Odaiba so we went there in the afternoon. I typically do not like to do these type of things on a Saturday due to the crowds, but it is the only time we have to do them with daddy, so we went. It was crowded, but both kids had loads of fun. I loved the little mini-Tokyo they built out of legos. It was quite amazing. My favorite part was the sumo stadium. You could push buttons to make the sumo wrestlers actually wrestle. Saturday evening was the special Hanabi fireworks on the Tokyo Bay. They did not have them last year due to the earthquake so it was a big deal this year. Thankfully we can see most of them from our apartment, which means no fighting crowds, and watching them from inside with air con, food, and a bathroom at our convenience. Plus, it is not too loud for the kids. We had some people over and really had a fabulous evening. When I say these fireworks are big, they are HUGE! All the people walking on the streets below looked like little ants. There were so many! And the firework show lasted about 75 minutes, non-stop. By far the biggest fireworks I have ever seen. One thing I have been thinking a lot about lately is friendships. If you were ever in girl scouts you probably sang the song that goes like this: Make new friends, but keep the old, one is silver and the other gold. I am not sure why friendships have been on my mind. Maybe it is because a friend came to visit this summer for a short time and I did not know her super well back in the US, but I am so grateful she came to tour Japan and visit us, because she has become a dear friend to me. Maybe it is because in trying to count my blessings here in Tokyo, most of them center around friends - my life has been enriched deeply by the friends I have made here. My kids' lives have also been enriched by the friends we have made here. I see that when miss M loves on my running partner with big hugs, or jokes and speaks Japanese with our Japanese friends. And then I remember my friends from the US - some of them call me weekly just to catch up and I do not think they realize HOW much that means to me. Others, well, we do not talk as much as we would both like, but when we do talk or email, we pick up right where we left off. And then I think of the hubs, my best friend of all. Man, has he enriched my life in ways I would have never imagined or expected. Our marriage, our friendship, has definitely deepened by being here in Tokyo, away from all of the familiar, forcing us to depend solely on each other. I am sure it would have deepened in the US, at least I hope it would, but God has used being here to deepen it in ways beyond my expectations. Isn't God good to us - to give us people to do life with? Friends, family, spouses, kids...whether near or far, it is good to have community, to keep community, and to make community wherever you go. For the longest time living here, I did not want to build community. I tried to keep living life in the US from 7000 miles away. Then I realized that is too hard. I can't do that. And it is a good thing I came to that realization because we thought we would only be here 2 years and God has some different time tables for us and we are still here nearly 3 years later. Imagine how miserable I would be if I had not made this my home and was still trying to live in the US? I have come to the point where I truly am happy here, home here. It does not mean I want to stay here forever, but I have community here, friends here. And I have friends and family back in the US who will always be my family and friends. And when I leave Tokyo, I will still keep these friends through technology and skype. And it just amazes me because my life has been enriched so much by all of these people from all over the world who I have had the opportunity to meet. Not sure why I wrote this, but it has been on my mind a lot lately - I am just thankful for the people in my life. I am blessed.