Noise

We live a semi rural area. Yesterday we went into the city. We have been toying with the idea of moving toward the city. Better schools, more choice in shops, better public transport. But after yesterdays adventure I think staying where we are is a lot better. The noise of so many people and cars crowded together just drove me crazy! Japanese shops have this terrible habit of blasting music in the stores, with tape players screaming at you to buy the cheap meat or vegetables. I like the idea of calm background music and I always thought the idea was to make you relax so that you spend longer in the store therefore spend more money. Here I want out as quick as possible! Add that to kids screaming, parents yelling and after a few hours I had had enough and was happy to get back to the peace and quiet here. Until this morning when I was awoken at the unearthly hour of 6am (this is a Sunday!) by birds, magpies, screeching outside of my window. From what I could see a crow had attacked a magpie and another magpie was screeching at the crow. All very interesting but not at 6am!

Colds and the like

September so far has turned out to be an awful month.
The lovely cool days haven't arrived in earnest, sure we had about
a week of cooler weather but last week saw highs of 35C.....again.
This has put a dampener on getting any work done in the house.
I tried to clean up the kids rooms but only did a tiny bit!
Then just to make things worse M came down with really
horrible cold. I think allergies are what started it but then he
got a sore throat and was feeling sick all day. Poor H also seems to
be rather snuffly and last night was coughing like crazy. And today
I feel awful, headache, sniffles and feeling rather sick. Would love
to crawl back to bed but that is impossible.
This has made me feel rather miserable. Every year I look forward
to September, the cooler days make me feel energised after the
intense heat of August. Japanese seasons use to be very reliable.
What is going on? I really hope that this year is just a fluke and not
setting a trend!

Sunday afternoons

Growing up Sunday afternoons were always a down time. No shops were open, nothing on TV (I'm talking about prevideo and DVD era!), just a time to day dream, read and maybe panic if homework wasn't finished! Now Sundays are as busy as every other day. In Japan there is no concept of a day off. Even if the schools, offices and factories are closed all the shops are open and packed. I guess for working Moms it's a chance to do the weekly shop. I use to shop on Sundays, the best deals are to be found, but the stress of fighting crowds to get meat or fish just a few yen cheaper wasn't worth it. I now try to shop on a Monday, when it is quieter, the kids are at school so not moaning and whinging for something in every shop.

So yesterday afternoon I tackled a job I had been putting off for years. I sorted socks. I can't believe that I kept so many odd socks. One large draw full and a laundry basket. These had been hanging around for the past 10 years or so. Why? Did I think that these odd sock would suddenly grow a mate? I honestly don't know. It took me two hours, managed to get a few pairs out of it, but from now on I am going to be on top of the sock problem!!

Where does the time go?

I was talking to my oldest son the other day. He is 15, in his first year of High School and a lot taller than me!! We were talking about his future, his dreams and hopes. He shocked me by saying that he wanted to go to England to study. He wants to be a forensic scientist, but in Japan there are no courses for this. You have to join the police force there is no separate division for forensics. Of course it would be great if he could get into university in England, I'm happy that he has some vision and goal, even if he isn't sure how to get there. But where is my baby boy? Where is the cheeky little toddler that wouldn't let me leave the room with following me all over the place, yes even to the bathroom? The past 15 years have gone really quick and I worry that the next 15 will go even quicker. How does one deal with this, our kids growing up in the blink of an eye, I don't feel older, but the aches in my back tell me differently. I know that this is how history has marched on, the kids grow and leave, but how does one deal with the emptiness left behind? I guess now I can understand these old ladies I see in my neighbourhood with their little lap dogs.
So I am going to try and be with my kids more, really enjoy this time together because it really does only come once.

I want to write more but there is a thunderstorm rolling in!!!

Life, woes and stress

I always knew that living in Japan was going to be difficult, but I thought it would get easier.
I would learn the language, understand the culture and make friends. But after 16 years here I still can't read or write, have a hard time with anything but very basic conversation. Still have a hard time understanding the idea of group mentality, of pushing people to keep going beyond normal limits. And friends, well my students like me, until they quit, then I never hear from them again. My best friend in Japan is from Zimbawa. So I'm wondering what to do. My husband talks about having goals for the next 10 or 20 years, but honestly speaking most days I'm just happy to get through the day! I would love to go back to England but we would never make enough money. Unless we won the lottery!
So life is tough and the one thing that would make it easier is learning some Japanese. But it seems so hard. Some people manage it, but I seem to learn some new word or phrase one week only to forget it the next. Also my son tends to translate for me, showing off I guess...well he is 15 so I guess it's normal! That makes me kind of lazy!

So a lot of stress. Yesterday I had to go to the hospital for a biopsy, but I have to wait until Saturday for the results..... I think waiting is worst than having the biopsy. Just three more days.

My son just came and told me that Prime Minister Abe has resigned. After one just one year in office. Is this the start of the swing door prime ministers? I remember a few years ago the Japanese changed their prime ministers every few months. The poor kids who were studying about the Japanese parlimentary system were getting so frustrated because the names kept changing very quickly! Lets hope things settle down this time!!

End of Summer Holidays but not the Heat

Back to school yesterday. Kids went okay. I'm exhausted, I think the last few weeks of intense heat has totally me!! It is still hot but more manageable, only 31C today instead of the 35c we have been having!!
The house is a total disaster. I don't know if it is me, this house or the Japanese way of living but I seem to be buried under a load of clutter. I throw out as much as possible but there still seems to be more and more stuff. On Sunday I cleared off a couple of bookshelves and managed to throw away two big bags of trash, out of date magazines (really out of date one was dated 1995, I was keeping for the recipes which I have never done!), workbooks that my eldest did in first grade, he has just started high school!! I'm hoping that as the weather cools down and I get a bit more energy that I can get things sorted, before it is too cold to move. I don't deal with extremes very well.
September feels like a new start. I guess growing up in England this time of year was the start of a new school year. And the freshness of new clothes, new book bags, books and pencils has stayed with me. So this month I want to restart some exercise, I did almost nothing in August, just to hot but I hope to pick up a bit this month. I am so stiff from not exercising. This morning I did a bit of weight training, i have very little upper body strength. I hope to get on my exercise bike a bit later. I need to make this a habit.
More another day.