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Seven Parks

Today was a national holiday. Vernal Equinox. The arrival of spring is traditionally very important here. Part of the traditions include visiting family graves, so when I walked through the Dounji graveyard in the afternoon it was full of fresh flowers that smelled remarkable combined with the solemnity of incense wafting through the air. Plus the early-bird cherry blossoms are adding color. It's been snowy and barren since November, but wow today was a reawakening. 


The boys and I did a neighborhood park tour in the morning. We left at 9 a.m. and hit up five parks before lunchtime. After lunch and a nap we played at two more parks. Well one was a repeat but seven total park visits. Kenzo saw a lizard at the one park and couldn't catch it so he wanted to go back and try again. He got pretty upset when the lizard evaded capture. He already had a name ready and everything. He said his friend is an expert at naming lizards and advised him that Shinobu was a good name, so Kenzo really wants to catch a lizard and name it Shinobu.


The boys got pretty hot so they took off their sweatshirts. I didn't bring my backpack so I was hauling hats, jackets, sweatshirts, and snacks from park to park in my arms.




By late afternoon it cooled down again. The air was perfect. I must've pushed Osamu on the swings a few hundred times today. My arms are sore.


Eri got the call last night. Our recent photo studio pictures were ready. She picked them up while the boys and I wandered the neighborhood this morning.



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