One Love – Japan and America

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Today the girls went ice skating with their friends after school. I don’t think Akie had ever been ice skating before and was a good sport. Juliana sticks by her side and helps her and includes her in everything she does. I am proud of all the work she puts into making Akie feel at home here.

For dinner, I served roasted chicken from Costco, rice, fresh corn, and sliced pineapple. I think she liked all of it, which makes me happy. I love that she is willing to try everything.

After dinner, we took Akie to Target to do some inexpensive American shopping and browsing. We were looking at the dollar section right as you walk in the store, and as we’re browsing, we hear “AKIE!!!”

Two of her Japanese friends walked in with their host family and we were all happy to see them. It was really cute to watch them greet each other. They walked up to her and decided to reach out with their arms wide open for a slow, animated, hug. I was shocked! So was Akie. They hugged, which is not normal for Japanese people. They were practicing being like their American friends and it was so cool!

When we left the store, I asked Akie about the hug and she said this was the first time she ever hugged her friends. I told her that I hope she takes the hugs home with her back to Japan and starts a new tradition there. She laughed and smiled. This really made me happy.

She loved looking around Target and admired the accessories, especially the colorful sling handbags and floral jewelry. She spent a lot of time in the candy aisle, and chose two different types of Ghiradellii chocolate bars to bring home. She also enjoyed looking around the kitchen aisles. I loved watching what she liked and what she admired.

We came home and unpacked and sat at the table, sharing a drink and a snack. Akie left the table and came back with a surprise for Juliana, wrapped up in her red scarf. She called Juliana’s name and when Juliana looked up, she presented her with a hand made gift that is priceless. I wish you could have seen Juliana’s face.

I took a picture of Juliana admiring her treasure and then asked Akie to give her a hug!! She laughed and joined in on the fun.

I can’t even tell you how much I love this girl and how much I am going to miss her when she goes back home in a few days.

Having her here with us is a great gift that we will treasure for a very long time.

Life is good.

10Mar2015

My New “Daughter”

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I feel like I have another child, in a good way.

Akie has become part of our family now. She is comfortable asking for what she wants and shares in our activities. She is loving and kind and polite and I adore her.

Today when I picked my girls up from school (I always wanted Juliana to have a sister!), they both wanted to go to a birthday party for their Japanese friend at the park.

We have a google group between the parents of host families and I had read about the party invitation from the host mom this morning. She was bringing chocolate cake and drinks and all were invited to attend. I was happy for our family to be part of the celebration and so we brought a gift and some food to share and off we went. I love kids of all ages. I especially loved walking up to the park and seeing small Japanese children under the age of 5, playing with and teasing our students. At first, I wondered if they were siblings of one of the host families. I quickly realized that there were young, Japanese moms playing with their little kids at the park, and the little kids made a connection with our “real” Japanese teenagers. There was a natural connection for them and the little kids and big kids were all playing and having fun together, chasing and tagging and running around together. I loved this moment and realized that there is a natural comfort in the familiar that we all share.

We sang “Happy Birthday” and the birthday girl blew out her candles. I hope she enjoyed celebrating with us today as much as we did celebrating with her.

After the birthday party, I dropped off Charlie at his practice and brought the girls to Daiso, so that Akie could compare the Daiso in Cupertino to the Daiso in Japan. They were both relatively the same, of course. We also drove by the Apple Headquarters campus that is being built and tried to use English words to describe headquarters. What words would you use? I think she understood.

Tonight I decided I didn’t want to cook and clean again, especially because we had a very busy day. I hosted a tea party for several friends this morning and had been busy all day, with no time to cook. We decided to go out for American fast food at Taco Bell, instead of eating left overs. She picked what looked good from the picture menu displayed and we ordered a couple other things for her to try. She really liked her steak burrito and the nachos. She tried the mild sauce and it was pretty spicy for her. This is why we chose Taco Bell over Chipotle, because she doesn’t care for spicy food. It was fun to see Taco Bell through the eyes of someone new. Even the girl working behind the counter was intrigued by our new “daughter.”

The girl behind the counter came over to my side of the counter to ask me a question. She wanted to know if she could give Akie a hug, because she had never met a Japanese girl before and she was so curious and happy to see her. I told her that in Japan, there isn’t a lot of hugging and kissing and that this would be uncomfortable for her. Having a stranger ask for a hug would be weird in any culture, but I could tell that she genuinely was wanting to see her and connect with her. As we ate, I told Akie about the strange request. As we left the establishment, I introduced Akie to the girl and they bowed to one another. This was a really cool moment. I wish you could have seen it. Love sees no color.

Today was busy and rewarding. I learned a lot again, even in Taco Bell.

How was your day?

9Mar2015

Our Exchange Student

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We are very lucky to be hosting an exchange student who is so wonderful.

She is very curious and polite and happy and knows what she likes and doesn’t. She is engaging and helpful and has become part of our family in just a few short days.

We are all going out of our way to make her time here a great experience.

Today I took her to the Paris Baguette after school to pick out a treat, as she loves cakes and baked goods. I loved watching her genuinely love all the displays and tasting the samples.

She picked a Royal Pudding served in a small glass jar that I had never seen before.

After an afternoon snack, she got ready to go to a ballet class with one of Juliana’s friends. I dropped her off at the friend’s house and they took her to the class and brought her home. At first, she was nervous to go on her own and I was luckily able to reassure her that she would have a good time and that she was safe. I, too, was nervous to leave her as I felt like she was my child and I was responsible for her well being. I trusted the family and was so honored that they were going through the trouble to share this experience with her, as she is a ballerina in Japan.

She had a wonderful time and was very happy when she returned home. The American girls also enjoyed her company and thought she was a very good dancer with great form. I am thankful for good friends and our community and that Akie had a good experience.

For dinner tonight, I made a spiral glazed ham, homemade mashed potatoes with gravy, steamed broccoli and cauliflower with hollandaise sauce, and traditional Japanese rice!! She loves rice and I love to serve it for her with every meal, to provide a taste of home. The cool connection I noticed tonight, was that the rest of my family also enjoyed rice with their dinner. Akie has rubbed off on us and I love it.

At school today, Akie learned to play the card game, War. After dinner Charlie found a deck of cards and they played together. Juliana and Charlie and Akie also did a round of the cup song, that she learned last week, passing the cups between them as they played. This was very cool to watch.

I am so happy she is here and am going to miss her when she leaves. I am thankful that Juliana was curious about hosting an exchange student and that we all agreed to go on this journey together.

Love this life.

Namaste

8Mar2015

Sunday – Rest?

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Sundays used to be a day of rest. What happened to that concept?

I’ve lost it. I value doing nothing, but I’m not good at it.

At the party I was at this weekend, I heard other women talking about not finding time to go to church on Sunday, because their lives have taken over and their kids have sports events on Sundays. They can’t do it all. Yes, there is guilt involved and I wonder what we are going to do to change this.

It’s true. I understand. And I don’t yet have an answer today.

We like going to church, yet we don’t go that often either. Not because we don’t want to; it’s just that we seem to be constantly on the go. And the days, we’re not on the go, we need to rest and sleep in and do nothing.

So it’s 10:00 pm and I’m finally sitting down to rest. It’s been a long and exciting day and I’m not complaining. I think the time change stretched out the day too and our schedule is really off. It’s ok. This too shall pass.

This morning I left the beach party bright and early so that I could get back to my family. I wanted to spend the day together with them and to share experiences with our Japanese “daughter.”

I love having her here. She is such a delight and is warm and kind and friendly and engaging.

She speaks a few words of English and understands many phrases that we share. We all try to understand one another and all seem to be enjoying each other’s company. She continuously says, “I am happy.” I am happy too. I am so happy to be sharing this experience with her and having the opportunity to share one slice of American life with her.

Today we took her to see Big Basin and the historical redwood trees. She was amazed by the size of the trees and enjoyed walking through the forest for a short while.

From the Redwoods, we drove to the Santa Cruz Boardwalk.

She was happy again and was excited to go on the Giant Dipper roller coaster with Juliana. She loved the thrill ride and was very excited.

Charlie and I went on the Haunted Castle ride which was so cheesy and funny. I loved sitting next to him and feeling him cover his eyes and ears, afraid of what was to come next, even though he knew as he had ridden the ride before.

It was a gorgeous day at the Boardwalk and we were so lucky to have an out of town guest to share our beautiful world with today.

Life is good – even if it means I’m resting this late at night.

I hope you have a good week. Take care of your beautiful self. xoxo

7Mar2015

Happy 50th Birthday!

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We are celebrating Becky’s 50th birthday down at the beach with 15 girlfriends, so tonight I’ll be quick and wish you a good night.

Live it up, and laugh out loud!

Life is good.

6Mar2015

Your Temple

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What if we loved ourselves so much that we treated US like WE were really important and a priority? If we, ourselves, were a temple, would we change what we do and eat and practice each day? Would we develop and practice rituals that celebrate our bodies? I think some of us might already and more of us should.

This is my friend, Pili. She was wearing this shirt today that sparkled and caught my attention and made me think. If you can’t see the picture, her shirt reads: “Love your body. Respect your temple.”

Isn’t she smart? She’s also very fit and focused and loving and giving and faithful. I admire her in so many ways.

She has been on the Paleo food system for quite awhile now and works out regularly. She balances raising 4 kids, volunteering at our school and at her church and always has a smile on her face. I’m sure she does a 101 other things too, but I’ll let her share more on those things. Oh, and she just got a dog. Is that a sign? I hope not. Pili has a beautiful soul and I think her eyes shine. Don’t they say the eyes are the windows to your soul? Take a look at hers. She’s got it going on!

So back to her shirt. I told her I loved her shirt and asked her if I could take a picture of it, and her in it, and of course, she humbly said yes. And then I asked if I could write about her tonight, and she kindly and quickly obliged with another, happy “Sure!”

I think if more of us loved our bodies and ourselves for just being who we are, where we are right now, we could create a lot more happiness in this world. I think this is so doable.

How do you treat your body as a temple? How do you treat your skin? How do you treat your face? How do you treat your stomach and muscles? How do you care for your brain and your heart? Do you drink enough water? How about sleep? Are your hands and feet rested?

What if we had a whole body workout routine that cared for our entire temple? Would you sign up? I know I would.

Maybe we can frame all that we do everyday with our temple in mind and make us a priority. Kind of a cool thought, right?

If I were to set up rituals and make my body a temple, I would:

– Wash my face and moisturize every day and night.

– Eat whole foods and skip sugar

– Drink more water and less alcohol

– Exercise daily for 2 hours – one hour of strength and one hour of fitness

– Stop biting my nails

– Do yoga every day

– Go to the beach and put my feet in the water. Sometimes paddle. Sometimes swim. Sometimes sit.

– Read

– Wear comfortable clothes

– Get massages

– Put my feet up

– Get manicures and pedicures and facials weekly

– Keep good posture

– Call my mom

– Call my sisters

– Love on my friends and family near and far

– Reach out in love – connect – touch – chat – help others

– Write

– Play and laugh

– Think and learn something new everyday

– Meditate and sit still and quiet my mind

– Stay organized and clutter free

– Practice and repeat

What would be on your list? What’s already on your list? We should make our lists!! What are we waiting for?
My list is so doable. I just have to set up the habits and practices and make my temple a priority. Who’s with me?

Celebrate this wonderful thing called life – bruises and pain and struggles included and acknowledged for what they are. And go on warrior. Keep moving. We’ve got this.

namaste

5Mar2015

Americana

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If you came to California for the first time, what would you want to see and do and eat?

We are loving having our Japanese student with us.

Today she wanted to see an American grocery store to buy chocolates. We visited Trader Joe’s and she was very curious about s’mores and gummy candies.

We decided that we would make our own pizzas for dinner, as she loves to bake. We bought the dough to roll out, shredded cheese, pizza sauce,pepperoni, Canadian bacon, mushrooms and onions, She never made pizzas before and I think she had a good time.

We invited friends to join us and we all enjoyed each others’ company and sharing a meal together.

Afterwards, the kids all performed the cup song, after learning it at school today. We all loved it!

We ran out of time today, but we plan to take her to a Safeway and to Costco. I can’t wait to see her expression and what she likes.

This weekend I think she will see San Francisco and the beach and maybe the redwood trees.

For breakfast and lunch, I have served her comfort food, which is rice. she seems quite happy here and I hope the rest of the students are having a great visit to the USA. If you have ideas of what we should share with her, please post in the comment section.

4Mar2015

Tree Pose

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If you were a tree, which one would you be?

Fallen

Alive and Thriving

Rooted.

Leaning to the Left

Hanging in There

I love trees and I love being outside. Thanks to my sister Tricia for suggesting my blog topic for tonight. Do you know how hard it is to think of a new idea to write about every night? Thank you sister!

Life is good and busy.

How was your day?

Namaste.

3Mar2015

Goodbye, Hello

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My friends Yin and Yang were with me all day today.

First thing this morning, we reluctantly said goodbye to Charlie as he loaded the bus to go on his overnight adventure to science camp. He was excited and nervous and so were we. I am hoping he has a great experience and I’m sure he will be ok.

Then early this afternoon, we anxiously awaited the arrival of our Japanese student and were so happy to finally meet her when she arrived.

It’s been a day filled with mixed emotions.

I am happy and tired.

Charlie, I miss you.

Akie, I am glad you are here and hope you enjoy your time in California with our family.

Namaste.

2Mar2015

Feeling Anxious

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I know I have nothing to complain about and that my worries really aren’t worries. But they are on my mind and make me anxious and rock my world a bit.

My baby is leaving for sleep away science camp in the morning. He laid out all his clothes and toiletries and personal items and walked through his checklist, checking things off as he found what he needed. I helped him to pack everything away, but mainly he did it all on his own. He’s growing up and I see it. I see him changing in front of my eyes and it makes me a little crazy. I know it’s a good thing and it’s really weird when you’re actually aware of the change happening as it’s happening. This rite of passage trip is a good thing. This rite of passage…yeah, I know, I know. Still anxious.

I know he has to go off with his classmates and sleep away from home, with “strangers.” He doesn’t find out who his bunkmates will be until he arrives. He’ll have to do things on his own and repack his bag and remember all of his belongings without my help. I know he can do it. But I kinda like looking after my little bird.

My nest will feel empty with him away. I like knowing that he is safe with me and that we are here for him, if he needs us, not that he ever really does. He’s pretty self sufficient, and tonight when he asked me to get him some water, I felt honored to help him and not irritated. He needed me.

He does need me of course, and I need him. He asked me to come snuggle on the couch tonight since it was his last night at home. He’s feeling it too. Of course, I stopped what I was doing and we snuggled and watched tv, under a cozy blanket. I am going to miss him.

At the same time as he is leaving, we are also receiving a Japanese exchange student for 12 days. I am excited and anxious about this too. I was nesting, getting her room ready and cleaning up the house and wondering what to bring her and what to buy for her and what to cook. I was even learning and practicing Japanese. We don’t speak any Japanese and I hope she speaks a few words of English. Otherwise, I am hoping that Google Translate will help us to understand one another. I am excited to have a guest and to share and learn from one another, despite our language barrier and my initial anxiety.