Loving our morning walks

I am loving our morning walks.  Starting our day with a breath of fresh air and stretching our legs is a great way to start the day.  My son and I have even made a game out of finding funny things on trees.  It started with a smile and a tree trunk eating a bar, but has progressed to several other things.  We really like finding hearts!

The one thing about social isolation is slowing down and really taking the time to notice the small things.

Growing projects

Each spring I get an itch to plant things and be in a garden.  This urge is nothing new for me.  Despite this feeling, I decided to not renew my pea patch (community garden plot or allotment).  The soil was very poor and I didn't have the capacity to nurture it when I didn't have the guarantee of keeping it long term (the city only promises you can use that same plot for 2 years).

Take this desire, plus the need to stay indoors and/or close to home these days, and I knew it was time to get creative with growing a bit of food.

While flipping through one of my son's books of science experiments, I saw some vegetable regrowth activities.  Feeling inspired, we grabbed a carrot top and decided to regrow the tops.  Carrot tops can actually be eaten.  I've made pesto with them and they can also be added to salads.  It has been fun to watch the leaves grow each day, as we can really see a difference in height.

Next we grabbed some peas and decided to try growing pea shoots using two methods - in a jar with a paper towel and in a small amount of seed starting soil.  After almost a week, the soil is the clear winner in the pea progress.  We might be able to eat those as early as next week!

We've also been growing things in containers in our rock garden.  The potatoes are doing great in their "potato bags" and the peas are happy campers.  We also planted chamomile (transplanted from the pea patch) and lettuce.  We've also started basil and beans.

It's been nice tending to the little plants as they grow big and strong.  I like having the touch of green right outside my door.  I spend some time out there everyday while my son gets some fresh air.  He loves to water them and look for changes in the plants.  In time, he'll be busy eating everything as well.

Living separate lives

While on a walk today, my family got to enjoy some later blooming cherry blossoms.  Their bright pink tufts brought a smile to my face.  I took a deep breath and enjoyed the moment.  We were the only people on that street.

Later, I went to the grocery store by myself.  My husband and son stayed home and played Mancala while I braved the potential crowd.  As I grabbed milk to make yogurt, spinach for smoothies, apples for snacks, and eggs to have on hand, I realized there really weren't a ton of people in the store.  It wasn't empty by any stretch of the imagination, but I wasn't having to constantly apologize for my presence or move out of the way.  The lines leading up to the registers were 5 or so people deep, but tape on the floor told people the appropriate distance to leave between customers.  I had elbow room.  I wasn't worried about being trampled or having to stand my ground.

For me, the best thing about social distancing is that I finally have some breathing room in this very crowded city!

As I hurriedly biked back home, trying to get there in time for the English news broadcast, I suddenly had an epiphany.  My friends that are struggling with the loneliness and isolation being thrust upon them was something I chose two and a half years ago.  Since moving to Japan, I have not been able to give my friends and family hugs.  I haven't been able to hold my friend's kids in my arms.  I have not been able to sit and have a cup of tea with them while our kids played together.  My connection with them has been via screens and very rare visits.  I can be sitting in a room full of people and still feel incredibly lonely here.

I have a specific time allotted each day to talk on the phone.  While it's not the same as face-to-face, it does help.

I have been having a great time with my son being home.  But this has come with a lot of practice.  When we first moved here, I was with my son 24/7 for 7 months.  Over time, we found a rhythm and get along most of the time.  The same goes for my husband working from home.  We worked out most of the kinks a long time ago.

Don't get me wrong.  Covid-19 scares me.  The seriousness of this disease is so crazy.  But there are some things that make me pause and reflect.  I have been so lonely for my loved ones for so long that the loneliness from social isolation isn't the hardest part for me.  It is pretty standard for living abroad.  Now if we could only figure out a way to deal with all the scary aspects, I'd be a bit better balanced about everything going on.

State of emergency

Prime Minister Abe officially called a State of Emergency in 7 prefectures today until May 6.  He did not declare a nationwide State of Emergency since the influx of cases is concentrated in these 7 prefectures - Tokyo, Kanagawa, Saitama, Chiba, Hyogo, Osaka, and Fukuoka.

The governement selected these prefectures based on the rate of new infections and the percentage of unknown sources (they don't know where they caught the virus).  For example, in the last 5 days, the number of people diagnosed in Tokyo prefecture has doubled, resulting in over 1,000 cases, with 68% having unknown sources.

Prime Minister Abe emphasized that this is not a lock down, but still encouraged people to change their behavior, starting with listening to the prefectural governmental officials.  Reducing person to person contact is key.  Prime Minister Abe detailed requests for businesses to increase efforts to either have employees work from home, or at least institute shifts so less people are in the office at any one time.  He also had a special plea for young people to stay at home and cooperate with social distancing.

We've been expecting this for a while now, but it is still scary and hard to hear.  The words of Prime Minister Abe were stoic, yet comforting.  He reminded the people that we have overcome very terrifying situations in the past by working together and supporting one another.  While I listened to a translation of his speech on NHK (a national public television station), and not his original voice, I found his words to be reassuring.

Our family has been practicing social distancing for a weeks now.  We have heavily weighed each outing, and made sure to be very diligent in washing our hands and not touching our faces.  Now, we will be even more prudent.

Welcome, kind of

Today was my son's entrance ceremony into elementary school.  In Japan, entrance ceremonies are a very big deal.  Families get dressed up in formal wear.  There are special congratulations and even special meals to celebrate.  It is more than just the first day of school.  It is the official first introduction between the school, teacher, student, and parents.

We were notified via phone call last Friday that the ceremony was going to take place despite school not starting until early May.  Traditionally an hour-long ceremony, they shortened it to just 15 minutes, and cut out other traditional activities like visiting the classroom.

We arrived at the school as requested.  Outside the gate, there was a large sign that said "Entrance Ceremony" for families and children to take photos in front of.  Although people were giving space, it was definitely not the advised 2 meters (6 feet).  At least there were only 4 families at the gate when we were there.

Posted outside the door to the building were the class lists, notifying students which class they would be in.  We stood there for a bit to review the list.  There are 7 students from my son's kindergarten going to his elementary school, so we wanted to see who got placed in which class.

We then entered the school, where we gave our name at the registration desk and proceeded to the area to remove our shoes.  Just like the kindergarten, special indoor only shoes are worn inside the elementary school.  While the kids wore their uwabaki (ooo-wah-baa-key), parents donned slippers.

As soon as we had switched shoes, we walked to the gymnasium, where the ceremony would be held.  There were spray bottles with hand sanitizer outside the large room.  Chairs were already set up with names attached to the back of the seats.  One parent sat with the student in the front, while the other parent sat in the back of the room.  The chairs for each parent and child set were directly next to each other, but each set was distanced from the next one.

Sitting on the seats was a huge stack of gifts from the school and city.  Items included textbooks, pastels, glue, a toolbox (to store scissors, color pencils, and so forth), a personal alarm (if triggered, emits a loud noise to attract attention), notebooks, and a randoseru cover.  Luckily, they asked us to bring an extra bag to take all this stuff home!

The ceremony flew by.  The Principal and Vice Principal said a few words.  The national anthem was played.  Roll call was taken.  Teachers were introduced.  That was it!  Afterwards my husband commented that all entrance ceremonies should be that short - especially for first graders.

We wrapped up the event with a quick photo outside in the schoolyard.  They asked only one parent to be in the photo and once everyone was lined up, masks were removed before the shutter was pressed.  Once they got the shot, everyone put their mask back on and left the schoolyard.

We were in an out in less than an hour.  Seemed almost silly to get all dressed up for it.  But, to my son, this day was very important.  So, I'm glad we made the effort.  The chaos of Covid-19 is really hard for kids.  Since this ceremony has been talked about so much, and really looked forward to, I'm glad they didn't cancel the whole thing.  I would have been fine if it had been postponed, but they didn't decide to do that.  We practiced restraint when seeing friends, made sure not to touch things if it could be avoided, and got out of there as soon as it was over.

If nothing else, this will be remembered as the strangest entrance ceremony we will ever experience.