This'll Just Take a Minute

A visit to grandpa's house is always a good time, especially when you can bring your cousin and aunt from America. The boys introduced cousin Jack to playing soccer in grandpa's yard and throwing rocks into the creek. After playing soccer all day both outside and inside the house, they headed back down to our little park for more. The day started with strawberry picking. Forty minutes of all you can eat pick 'em off the vine strawberries and we were stuffed.

I turned around to the bus seat behind me and told Kenzo to tell Jack when to push the button. And no messing around. Jack was like what is the button for. I said you push the button when you want the bus to stop at the next stop and if no one pushes the button the bus just keeps going. Staring contest at lunch. Kenzo nodded his approval at my explanation. Jack says, "Ohhh that's a good idea."

Our time in Tokyo came to an end today. We ran through the rain to the nearest subway station since the wait for a taxi was gonna be long. Last night we split up for dinner since everyone was getting tired and grumpy. Osamu finished off an entire adult bowl of ramen with mama. The rest of us ended up at a basement spot up the street from Iidabashi Station and it was sumptuous. The head server was this old guy and Jack happened to notice he was wearing some high end shoes so I asked him about it and he said they were probably fake but we decided he was just being humble. The dude obviously has a thing for good shoes. They were Dior Nikes.  Yesterday morning after Asakusa we all headed over to the Tokyo Sky Tree, the tallest structure in Japan. Eri and the boys went up to the top. They're not afraid of heights and I'm jealous. The rest of us stayed down below and headed over to Akihabara. After a hearty "snack" of pizza and popcorn shrimp Misty and Jack hit up a cat caf...

I took this selfie of us in front of the famous Tokyo landmark Kaminari-mon. Eri has such a great eye for detail. She was like there was a concrete truck passing by blocking the thing. I kinda like the version with the concrete truck. Being the leader ain't easy. Sometimes you fail. Today I succeeded though. I chose a lunch spot in Asakusa that was a bit of a gamble since it's not totally kid friendly (they have ash trays on the tables and there are cars and mopeds passing very closely by) but I knew it was gonna be good. And it was. The boys loved the weiners and maguro sashimi and the grown-ups had cold beers and Korean chijimi after a long walk on a humid Tokyo morning. West exit of Iidabashi Station. No photo could capture the beauty of the sunset.

After hitting up Shibuya, Harajuku, and Shinjuku the best part of today was taking it easy at our rental apartment and grabbing takeout dimsum from across the street. The boys somehow instinctively know how to have the best time ever. I ordered a cab for Misty and Jack. They are still jet lagged and were fully fading out. I went down to the taxi with them to make sure everything was kosher and the driver turned out to be this wonderfully jolly guy who was delighted even when there was a four alarm fire at the building next to the hotel they were staying at and had to divert his route. When it was bath time Osamu decided he wanted to do it himself, so he closed the door and I waited outside for backup support. He did great with shampooing his hair and scrubbing his body with soap. When he got in the tub and sat down with the hot water up to his neck I opened the door to check on him and he waved me away and said, "My quiet time has arrived."

The day we’ve all been waiting for finally came. The suitcase was packed, the boys’ backpacks were full of stuffed animals and toy trains, mama and papa were somewhat emotionally stable, and we hopped on the 8:06 bus down to Izumi Chuo. Then the subway to Sendai Station where we had a little hiccup with the tickets because I wanted to get Kenzo an IC card so 1) we could go paperless on the Shinkansen, 2) so we could move around Tokyo a little more efficiently, and 3) he’s gonna be in third grade and he can handle the responsibility of an electronic public transport card. Well apparently we need physical proof of his age even though he was standing right there flashing his eight-and-a-half-year-old grin but the rules are the rules due to certain jackasses who buy children’s cards so they can pay half price, so we got old fashioned paper tickets and headed up to the train platform. There was an announcement about strong winds causing delays and our train pulled in a few minutes late but ...

Kenzo wrapped up second grade today. He came home at lunchtime and I asked how he was doing. He said, "Good, but some kids bullied me." He says that a lot. That's why mornings are hard for him these days. He won't walk to school with the neighbor kids. He needs mama to go with him and still often cries on the way and makes a fuss at the school gate. But when he walks home, he's totally fine. He moseys up the street and up the steps and opens the door and confidently proclaims he's home. I'm still trying to figure out how to help him. Based on what he describes, it is not bullying (to me at least). It's just 8-year-old culture. But Kenzo has this habit of playing the victim. It is so tricky. I want to support him without reinforcing that mindset. Meanwhile, my job was intense today and tomorrow will be the same. After that I am off for a week and a half so I need to clear my plate. Eri and the boys drove up to her mom's place to borrow a kimono for ...

I think that more often than not we never know the value of a moment until it becomes a memory. Before I even had a chance to stretch into the day I fell prey to yet another morning ambush. The window was open, letting in that crisp new spring air, and before I knew it two little boys in pajamas came flying at me, shouting, “TACKLE TIME!” If I ever needed a reminder that time marches forward, that nothing stays still, well there it was. I held my ground for a few rounds, actually just curling up into a fetal position, before declaring myself a survivor and getting up to take on some spring tasks. First order of business: tire changing. My biannual ritual. Swapping out the winter tires for the regular ones. It's a task I’ve gotten pretty handy at over the years. This time, I clocked myself: 26 minutes for all four tires. Not bad considering I’m using that flimsy jack that came with the car. Those things weren’t made for this job. But then again, neither am I. By next winter’s swap, ...

Saturday mornings belong to soccer. Kenzo and Osamu love it, and they’re both getting so good. Kenzo, especially, is coming into his own. Less hesitant, more willing to get into the thick of things. He’s still careful, but the fear of getting hurt is fading, little by little. It’s wonderful to see his confidence grow. After soccer, we headed straight for the coast, stopping at a supermarket to grab some lunch. The boys know the routine... eat first, then play. That seaside park has become one of our favorite spots, a place where time slows down just enough to feel it. It's also super windy all the time so it's a great spot for flying kites. But the main event today was a trial horseback riding lesson. Osamu was all in from the start. He never seems to hesitate with new things, just jumps right in, full of excitement. Kenzo, on the other hand, was nervous. He gave it a shot, but in the end, decided that horseback riding wasn’t for him. Not today, at least. I get it. Horses are b...

This guy is a freshly minted kindergarten graduate and his elementary school entrance ceremony isn't until April 8th, so he is living it up. Somehow he sweet-talked mama into putting money into a Hello Kitty popcorn machine when they were out shopping this morning.