Dog ate blogwork

I am so behind on my blogging, eek. In part it's because we go to a lot of new places here, I take photographs, and then it takes me much too long to post a travelogue with pix. Or the kids have vacations - like the current 5-day vaca for Japan's "Golden Week" - and I don't have as much time to contemplate life or describe what's going on.

So what is going on? My mom just arrived tonight for an 8-day visit. She planned it at the last minute and got a seat with her United miles - and we are thrilled to see her. She and my stepfather were here six months ago (hard to believe it was that long ago) and the children were counting down the days and hours this week to her arrival.

Golden Week - from last Friday thru this Tuesday - is a time when Tokyo empties out and nearly all Japanese go on vacation. It is very quiet around here. The vacation's timing also synchronizes with end-of-school activities: last week, Lucinda's school had a "spring festival" on Tuesday when parents accompanied kindergarteners to do crafts all morning, and on Thursday, the kindergarten took its only field trip, to Shinjuku Gyoen, a lovely park we've visited before. (I went along for that, too.)

I'm also doing more editing (for another 2 weeks) for Kateigaho International Edition, the English-language magazine about Japanese arts and culture. Then we have just five more weeks of school to mid-June. Upcoming: "sports day" for Arno's and Lucinda's schools, and in June, Lucinda's birthday party, which must be planned. Impossible to believe that our first year here is almost over.