Simple Life

In my perfect Eden, I would be an artist. All day I would write and craft. I would write whatever and whenever the inspiration struck - for however long I wanted. My crafts would be handmade trinkets for people that I care about - nothing museum quality, but certainly able to be “lovingly” displayed. Reading and writing are my first love and my oldest friend. No matter the menagerie of amazing people that make up my friends, I will always crave that kinship I have with the written page. There are several projects I have created for friends that I am proud of - little pieces of my adoration graphically displayed. One such piece actually returned to me in a way, and is keeping me company here in Japan. ND was having an important birthday, one that deserved a special gift. Like me, she would be happier to receive a funky handbag or a well worn, but loved, book, over something expensive and shiny. What made the quest for a fabulous gift all the more difficult is that ND is the “it...

One of the things that I have struggled with here is Japan is how dependent I have to be on other people. I have always been a self-sufficient, do what needs to be done on my own kind of girl. Here, that's impossible. I cannot buy food, make a hair appointment, or buy a train ticket by myself. Everything that we do here needs to be done with us or for us at least the first time. This picture is of the machine that we use to buy train tickets. The picture is pretty small and difficult to see, but it is all in Japanese (shocking, right?). There are Kanji listed for all the different cities that you can buy tickets for, as well as instructions in hiragana and katakana. So, as it is, I can buy tickets for one of two places, and that is only because I have been shown which buttons those are and I know the fare that the ticket should cost. If someone were to ask me to take the train somewhere else, I'd need help. I mention all of this because it is hard. It is so hard to wa...

School for the kids has been an interesting little journey. We had no real expectations of what it would be like for them once we got them into school - except that there would be a steep learning curve and we should probably expect some hiccups. In the conversations that we had leading up to getting them started, we assumed that Jaxon would have an easier time than Lily - as she is just a little needier : ). As it turns out, we were wrong. One thing to note before I get too far into this - when we placed the kids in school we were faced with the question of which grade to put them into. In America Lily would have been in 3rd, Jaxon in 2 nd . If the school year were on the same calendar here as the US, it would have been easier - just put them in the grades they are supposed to be in. But, the the school year begins in April, which is when students begin their new grade. If we had put them into 2 nd and 3rd, they would have each had just one month of that grade before moving...

I’ve been thinking a lot about happiness. It’s an elusive thing - being happy. One minute we think we have it, then it’s gone. If you think about it, isn’t almost everything we do in the pursuit of happiness? We work to make money, to secure a future, to be happy. We marry, have children, have friends, all the be happy. Even the little things that we do are often in an attempt to secure a glimpse of happy. Or, at least, not miserable. Maybe we aren’t drinking our coffee or wearing comfortable clothes all in the grand attempt toward bliss, but we are trying to avoid miserable. Not miserable is better than miserable, and a little closer to happy. I do not have the answer to achieving happy, or even content. But, I’ve come to realize a few things. Mostly, people cannot make you happy. They can please you, make you feel amazing and wonderful, but the happy has to be from you. I have it pretty great - awesome kids, the best husband, and a unique life that I enjoy - all of whi...

Too funny not to share... I was doing a bit of research on Google and these are the autofill options offered to me: Thanks Google : ) So glad you are there to answer the tough questions for me!

I received a lot of positive feedback and emails from my recent blog about the differences here versus America. I love hearing from people that read the blog - even if it is only one little line - it lets me know people are out there! Since the “Differences” blog only touched the tip of the iceberg, here are a few more. These are for your benefit as well as mine. I have a feeling that all these things will soon become normal to me and I will forget the awe I felt at discovering them. Utilities - We pay all the same utilities here - gas, electric, water, cable, internet, phone. Here’s the difference - we pay ours here at the convenie - or the convenience store. Like Starbucks in the US, there is a convenie on every corner here. When you get a bill in the mail it has a barcode on it, which you take into the store and they scan it like a bag of chips or something. You pay your bill and go on your way. Another nice thing is that when the meter reader guy reads our meters, we get a...

Tonight the kids and I were walking home from work (mine, not theirs) just as a piano class was letting out. A cute little Japanese kid - probably about 10 - saw the kids and I and turned and ran back inside shouting. A moment later he reappeared with a friend, to show us off. It was pretty comical! It’s those moments that I laugh on one hand feel so grateful on the other. I feel so thankful that Lil and Jax are growing up rounded, being exposed to so many different versions and variations of life. Speaking of variations...here are a few of the differences we are experiencing here: Uniforms - I’ve posted pics of the kids in the uniforms, but that was just the beginning. Since then we have had to buy their school hats (2 for each, one bright yellow for to and from school, another, red, for outside at school), school umbrellas (bright yellow), school shoes (2 pair, one for inside and one for out) and PE uniforms. In the grand scheme of things it is easier, as in, no arguing o...