Christmas has been and gone and the New Year has finally arrived. I know many people are glad to see the back of 2011 and welcome the New Year safe in the knowledge it can not be any worse than the last one. For us here in Tokyo, we really have nothing to complain about. Though that was quite a big earthquake we had about an hour ago. Enough already. Give Japan a break why don’t you, Mother Nature?!
Yesterday was my sister’s 44th birthday – she doesn’t read here so won’t mind me giving her age away. She’s had a horrible year – the last half of it anyhow. She was diagnosed with breast cancer in the summer and is currently undergoing the horrors of chemo and when this finishes she will have radiotherapy and then a double mastectomy. 2012 is going to be the year she recovers, gets healthy again and moves on. I can just feel it. I KNOW this is going to happen.
Perhaps the saddest news I’ve received all year came right at the end when I learnt that my friend’s 9 month old daughter suddenly passed away right before Christmas. How does anyone get over the death of a child? Does anybody know of any support groups in the Tokyo area? I really am at a loss for words and would like to support my friend through this heartbreaking experince if I can. My friend and her family are constantly in my thoughts…but I know the day will come when she feels up to seeing people again and I would like to be there for her.
In more uplifting news, the kids were pleased with the gifts that Santa brought them. Though it has to be said I was (and still am) a little gutted that hardly a day goes by without the kids saying “For my birthday I want a Fourze belt.” If there was one present that my two kids both wanted, it was this year’s (last year’s!) “must have toy” – The Kamen Rider Fourze Belt. Some kind of supersonic gadget that makes an awful lot of noise in my opinion. They both make a bee line for the display belts at our local Ito Yokado whenever they get the chance. Instead of belts, they got Fourze jigsaw puzzles, which hadn’t sold out like most of the other Kamen Rider merchandise. They seem to like these puzzles, but can’t stop themselves from admiring the aforementioned belt when the puzzle is completed before announcing “For my birthday…” Sigh! The scooters they received have been a big hit and they even scootered all the way to hoikuen on Boxing Day (26th for non Brits). This was a once in lifetime opportunity and we won’t be doing that again in a hurry – not that they did it in a hurry on the 26th mind.
Santa brought me a new Iphone – just in time as the old one was on the blink quite literally and would flicker on and off in a very temperamental fashion and on several occasions would take photos of the screensaver without me having to push a single button. A Ghost in the Machine perhaps? A new bath robe also arrived with the postman on Christmas Day. A present from my husband. A much needed present too. He seems chuffed with his “Mega-flab-buster Training Belt” – at least somebody got the belt they wanted, eh?
Recently, Alexa has decided that she is only going to wear Gokaiger t-shirts. This is tricky as she only has three of these garments. To over-compensate perhaps, during the Christmas break she has taken to wearing a Goseiger (not to be confused with Gokaiger!) dressing-up costume EVERY BLOODY DAY! She refuses to wear a coat over the top – not even her Gokaiger zip up parker – and this I know must make her feel the cold. It could be worse I guess, she could be insisting on wearing princess paraphenalia all the time. Once this bug takes a hold I’ve heard it can take a long time before they recover. I’m guessing she’ll soon get over it. I seem to remember when we were in the UK in March last year her “thing” was Toy Story and this outbreak only lasted until the end of the summer when she must have got bitten by the Gokaiger/Goseiger/KamenRider bug. The things they pick up at nursery, eh?
Tadashi has been away on business in Hyogo Ken for 5 days and returns tomorrow before returning to his usual office in Odaiba the next day no doubt. James was a bit miffed that he didn’t get to do his usual Saturday boys’ day out this weekend. Me and the kids did the Shrine visit with some neighbours and their kids today. A short bus journey to Monzen Naka Cho and it wasn’t too crowded like the times I’ve attempted to go to Kameido Shrine on New Years where everybody is lining up for miles down the main road for hours on end. Once we had thrown our coins, prayed for health and happiness (I bet the kids prayed for Kamen Rider belts!) and after eating Choco bananas (urrgh!), my two went running off to play in a swing park next to the Shrine. Both knackered now and are watching Goseiger and I suspect Alexa will crash very early today given that she hasn’t had a nap for days.
I suppose I should finish with some New Year Resolutions…
1. To blog more frequently – perhaps impossible as this post itself has taken several hours in interrupted bursts to finish. Hence the fragmented ramblings. Ganbarimasu!
2. To be a better mummy – by being consistent and adopting scream free parenting to avoid shouting like a lunatic every morning. Ganbarimasu!
3. To lose the 5kg I seem to have acquired since returning to work – by eating less. Difficult but not impossible. May affect number 2 above as will be miserable grumpy bitch. Ganbarimasu!
Here’s hoping the Year of the Dragon is a good one. Happy New Year!
Bloody hell Gina, thats some dealings with. I was going to write that ‘I pray your sister’s …. ‘ but I know any praying I do is pretty fruitless so I hang out all hopes that you sister’s treatment is successful and she tells cancer where to fuck off to already. i can’t imagine what pain your friend is going through losing a child and I wish her strength and the ability to smile at her memories sometimes over the coming months.
See you in April.
I’ll be the pissed one handing you a champagne cocktail when you walk in the door.
xxx
Thank you, Katy,
I have made plans to visit my friend in the next few weeks.
April’s piss up sounds fabulous. I can’t wait to see you guys.
xxx
So sad news about your sister and your friend’s baby. I really hope the treatment is a complete success!
Good luck with your resolutions. I heard about a diet where you don’t have to eat less, but just eat a mikan before every meal. Not sure how effective it is though!
Thank you, Grace.
I had a nice long chat with my sister yesterday and she sounded her normal self unlike the last time I spoke to her and she was so weak I didn’t recognise her voice.
A mikan, you say? I may try that. I have a feeling the extra pounds may be from beer – I drank a lot during the summer months and now it’s cold again I don’t quite feel like glugging down gallons of beer.
Your sister has had a rough year in 2011- I hope 2012 is a year in which she can look back and say “I recovered, I told that cancer where to go”- She is still so young!! I wish her the very best.
As for your friend who lost her child- how tragic. Is she English speaking or foreign? If so perhaps contact TELL to see if they have support groups or something. If she is Japanese then maybe ask the shiyakusho on her behalf if they have any information.
Good luck with your 2012 goals! I made some resolutions too…will see how they go! {as you know my talk of resolutions lead to us planning the piss up in April though so hey, even if I fail at my resolutions at least April will be fun!}
Thank you Laura,
It is a British friend. Thank you for your input. I have TELL on my list and I have found another site for situations like this but it hasn’t been updated for a couple of years so not sure how helpful it may be.
I’m sure coping with a death is dealt with so much differently here than back home – funerals being more impersonal perhaps?
April’s piss up sounds like it’s going to be a lot of fun!