Star of the Show

I have been stalling this post, thinking that there hasn’t been anything too exciting to note. But then on Sunday, my week ended with Avalyn sobbing and wailing so loudly in the shower the neighbors came outside to check the scene. Loren was taking out the garbage and came back in quickly to tell me they were outside staring at our house with concern. I thought I might share with you a typical day…but there is no typical day. I am in a circus and our family is the center act. People in Japan are very quiet and polite. My children are very loud and like to point. The Japanese seem very tidy, neat and take great care of their possessions. Our house is the hoarder house, our children the homeless and items barely last a week without getting lost or broken.

Despite these differences, I have felt very welcome in Japan. Last week, the girls made deliveries on their bikes with pictures and candy to each mailbox on our street. The following evening, the lady next door gave the girls a box of cookies and a note thanking them for the gifts. Many people have come to ring our doorbell, including the town chairman. He came to welcome us to the neighborhood with his wife and grandkids and gave us his phone number to call if we ever have any questions.

My cousin Kristin came this week to visit and is helping out in exchange for a free place to sleep (and to hang). I can breathe a little now that I have an extra hand, and the girls are loving it. We also experienced a 4.6 earthquake on the 3rd story of the mall…felt a good rumble. The kids were being so crazy they didn’t even feel it. The elevators shut down and we were just thankful we weren’t on one when it happened.

During the week Avalyn heads off to school first and then I take the middle girls to their kindergarten. Two miles round trip with a baby on my back and the girls in a double stroller. I come home and do laundry and clean the house. I feel very tied down with “busy work” and feel like I haven’t had time to really do anything meaningful. It has been survival mode sending the kids to school and figuring out how to live in Japan. But we are getting the girls to chip in and ease the load a bit.

There are a few things I find fascinating. Like $6 peanut butter, a $40 cantaloupe, buildings that look like churches are really just wedding chapels. How you can leave your possessions parked outside on your bike and expect no one will steal it. How people take great pride in their job and you get excellent customer service most everywhere you go. Parks are swept, bikes are always set nicely on the kickstand, and I have not seen a Japanese person yet in sweatpants. Children are out and about independently, taught and expected to make responsible decisions and look out for each other. My kids are outside unsupervised and unfenced, and I trust they are safe.

There is so much we will take home from our stay in Japan so far and I feel like it will positively affect our lives and our children. I want to shout out a hello to everyone at home…everyone praying for us and sending us encouraging emails and messages. This has been a very wild ride and it has just begun. When I get a few seconds of downtime I get twinges of sadness, like the other day when I came across a note from a dear friend and I felt a little alone and a bit caged in. I felt a little groundhogs day-ish, knowing that tomorrow I will do it all over again and without a break to hang and chat with my mom and girlfriends back home. We are continuing to build our network here and will be getting internet set up at our house next week. Also, soon we will celebrate Golden Week in Japan and the weather here has been mostly warm and sunny and the flowers have been beautiful.

Miss you all and love you. More updates to come.