Giving Thanks

Last year


This year

I just realized that this year will be the first Thanksgiving at home in the US in 2 years. One year ago, Robin and I were hiking with friends on a very foggy Mount Takao outside of Tokyo, and then going to dinner at the beautiful Ukai-Toriyama, which is tucked into the valley beneath the mountain. Dinner 2 years ago was in Tokyo in our new home there, with just the 4 of us. Thanksgiving dinner had never tasted better. That was the year I spent 50 dollars on the turkey! Yikes.

This year as I prepare for dinner, I hear drilling, grinding and banging on my roof. Huge pieces are being thrown down from above, falling past my windows and landing with loud bangs that startle me over and over. Every time a big piece falls, I think it's some BODY falling off my roof and landing in my yard with a plop. The yard is a mess, the porch in the back is covered with debris. I have 12 people coming for dinner tomorrow, and things are really not pretty here. I will just pretend it's a kind of still-life art exhibit made of trash, twisted metal and rotten wood, and try to ignore it all.

On the plus side, ALL my boys will be home and we will all be together for the first time since July. We are all busy doing what we should be doing. Working, going to school, following our passions. We are healthy, have the best friends on the entire planet, (all over the planet!) and loving families. There is much to be thankful for.