Four years later

The other night, I tried in vain to fall asleep. Instead of peacefully drifting off into dreamland, I laid in bed with random thoughts running through my head. From global warming to my son returning to school in just a few days, my mind was full of unease. I tried counting from 100 to 1, but sleep remained elusive. Just when I thought I had experienced the full range of random thoughts, I realized that we were about to pass the 4th anniversary of arriving in Japan.

Soon, instead of counting numbers, I was counting experiences we have amassed over the past 4 years. Of course, our first 2.5 years were filled with activities, while the past year and a half we've mostly stuck close to home. I'm so glad I have kept this blog as a record of our many activities, because I know I have forgotten many of them!

Beyond the individual experiences we have had, I focused on how we have changed over the past 4 years. Our son has spent almost half his life here, as we moved here when he was newly 4 years old. It is so easy to see the differences in children as the years are much more apparent. He went from a young explorer to an eager scholar, as he completed kindergarten and went on to elementary school.

Just today, our son completed a rite of passage that is customary in Japan. He went on a family errand all by himself. He took our lunch orders, walked to a nearby take-out restaurant, purchased our afternoon meal, and brought it all home - all by himself! I tried not to be nervous, as this is not a task for an 8 year old in the US, but he proved he was ready and able when he completed the task with ease.

It is a bit harder to see the changes in my husband and me, but they are there. They are more internal in nature.

To celebrate this anniversary, we enjoyed some sparklers in the garden. We love senko-hanabi, a traditional Japanese sparkler that are small and simple, but beautiful to watch. My husband did these a lot when he was a child. You have to hold the sparkler very still (and can't do them on windy days) to get the full benefit of the sparkler. As soon as the lit tip falls off the fragile stem, the experience is over. But if the stars align, it provides a beautiful show.

Two kinds of senko-hanabi - Osaka (black tips) and Tokyo (colorful sticks).

I eventually fell asleep the other night with dreams of things that we still have yet to experience in this country, giving me something to look forward to. Each day we continue to hold onto this adventure of living in Japan, trying to get the full benefit of our experience. Just like with the senko-hanabi, we pray we are able to get the most out of our life here and appreciate the beauty along the way.