Many many masks

I have been on a mask mission today.  With the stores being sold out of disposable masks for 2 months, plus my desire to waste less, I have been making as many as I can.

I've tried a couple different patterns.  Some sew faster than others and some fit better than others.  But I just keep on sewing!

One night I was trying to sew pleated masks and I broke 3 needles because I was sewing through too many layers!  So, I had to wait over a week for more needles to be shipped to my door.

As I dug through my box of quilting fabrics, I have gotten so excited to use various patterns.  I don't need much fabric for each mask, so I have lots of options.

Need to roll the edges of these and attach the elastic.  

Almost done!

I've made so many, I've been giving them away.  A lot of people don't sew, but would happily use a cloth mask.  I am so happy to share.  My neighbor was so confused when I left a couple on her doorstep!  But she quickly realized it was me.

I know that the masks aren't a guarantee to protect my family and friends from Covid-19, but it still makes me feel better to be making them and wear one.

So many numbers

You know you're avoiding the world when you look forward to locking yourself in your bedroom to do your taxes.

Today, my husband and son hung out together while I stayed up in my bedroom gathering information and entering numbers into a database for our tax expert.  The US is one out of only a handful of countries that grants expats the honor of being double taxed.  That's right, we earn once and pay twice.

It is at times like these that I am so grateful for technology!  With just a couple logins and passwords, I am able to access or request all our tax forms!  Back when I lived here in 2002, my mom did my taxes for me and submitted them on my behalf!  While, of course, I'd love to have her free services once again, I am grateful for the ease of modern technology.  (And since my taxes are much more complicated nowadays, I'm sure she is more than happy not to be doing them anymore.)

I'm almost done.  Just waiting on one more form.  It doesn't really matter when I get it either, as non-residents get an extra 45 days to submit their tax forms.  Of course, we have to notify the government that we are expats, but it is available to us nonetheless.

A glimmer of hope

We received an email today that gave me a huge sigh of relief.  My son's elementary school entrance ceremony will take place as scheduled on Monday.  The ceremony will be condensed, but it will still happen.  My son is overjoyed.  He is so ready to officially be a first grader!

Following the ceremony, school will not be held again until early May.  This is the part that makes me super happy.

I don't have to worry about my son sitting in a crowded classroom, incubating and spreading viruses, like Covid-19.  I can keep him safe at home for another month.  It is exactly what I think is the best move to flatten the curve and keep our kids safe.

If it is too dangerous to send our family members to office jobs, it is too dangerous to send our kids to school.  Plain and simple.

This has been a huge source of stress for me, as a mother.  I am so grateful the school district finally decided to make a decision.  Maybe I'll actually be able to sleep tonight.

Rollercoaster of emotions

The days are filled with such intense emotions.  They are on constant movement, going up and down with such force it feels like I am suffering from whiplash at times.

My son woke me up as usual this morning.  It was super windy outside, so we decided to start our day with a dance party instead of our usual walk.  The awkward, non-rhythmic boogying left us giggling and considerably less stressed.  It felt good to laugh for a bit.

Soon afterwards, we proceeded with our daily schedule and I found myself getting stressed over silly stuff.  I actually yelled at my son.  I felt awful immediately, but it doesn't take back the fact that I did it.  I try not to be a yeller (I save it for emergencies because then he really pays attention), so it really bothered me.

We took a break and he FaceTimed with his cousin while I tried to reset my attitude.  When they were done talking, we took a walk.  I felt more centered and at ease.

All day it was up and down.  Each time I went negative, I thought about how lucky we are.  Tokyo isn't actually locked down.  My family isn't hiding from evil people, just germs.  We can still go to the store.  I still talk to my neighbor regularly, even if it is over our garden walls.

By the time the English news came on at 7:00, I was tired from the up and down from the day.  When they started showing images of New York and talking about what was going on there, I started crying.  I couldn't help it.  It is so scary and sad!  My son looked over at me and said "Oh, momma.  Don't cry!  Do you need a hug?"

I explained that I was really scared and sometimes that fear comes out in tears.

I'm tired.  I'm super tired, and things are just now really rearing its ugly head over here.  Although we've been dealing with Covid-19 in Japan since the end of January, the fear just increases as do the number of those diagnosed.

I'm not really fearful for myself.  I'm fearful for my son and the world he will live his life in.  There is so much unknown right now.  I wish I could talk to my grandparents about big events they have lived through over the years and things they did to help them overcome.  I know, logically, we will weather this storm, but what that exactly entails, no one knows.

Flower power

I rely heavily on my morning walks to keep my sanity in check.  The bit of fresh air really helps me.  As a bonus, so many flowers are blooming.

Although it was raining this morning, my son and I still headed out to start our day off right.  We carried our umbrellas and enjoyed the spring rebirth.

Enjoy some photos from our walk today and this past week.