Kokochi

65 years ago today...

...an atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima.

wings and a jacket

"Fairies don't wear jackets! ..."

said Tesla when she decided to wear her pink wings to preschool, and I insisted she put on a jacket as we headed out the door. She pouted as I put her jacket on, then her wings. As soon as we got to school, she shed the jacket, got her wings on, and pretty much pranced around oh so proudly.

 

 

茶屋 - Chaya - Tea House - Playa

I don't think I posted that we are officially accepted as a theme camp for Burning Man! Cairo and 7:30.

A small, authentic, serene tea house. Real matcha, with [signifcantly] modified tea ceremony, and a quiet, intimate space.

More will unfold, but we're beginning to prepare in earnest : )

 

 

Tesla & Gizmodo Japan

I've mentioned this before, but as I am so honored, I want to share again. Telsa's birthday coincides with the anniversary of Gizmodo Japan. She is 4 years old, and so is Gizmodo.jp

Every year, they post a picture of Tesla from her birthday when they celebrate their anniversary. Now how cool is that? Again, I am grateful, and can't wait for her to get how big this is! Gizmodo is no small site.

The editor is a dear friend of mine, by the way, so it's not totally random, but it's so sweet that Gizmodo continues this tradition.

The post for this year is here, and they link to one,  two, and three years old too.

mama, that was unfair

Last night we babysat Fia...or more like Fia came over to play and then sleep until her parents got home from their dinner. Very easy, and fun for T. After dinner and playing, I ended up offering to put a bit of a movie on for them, and I let Fia choose the movie in spite T's protests. I said Fia was our "guest" so we should let her choose. In the end, I found Curious George that they both wanted to see, but still, I had clearly given priority to Fia.

At bedtime, I then also let Fia choose the book I was to read to them. T protested, but I said again, let's let Fia choose.

This morning, as I drove T to school, I asked if she had fun with Fia last night. T then explained that she had been upset that I kept letting Fia choose. "Mama, that was unfair," she said. And I got it. It was unfair, and I realized that I should have given T more voice to the matter. I had been blind to how I had ignored her perspective, assuming she'd get or learn that Fia, as a guest, should get priority. Not only is Fia more of a sister than a guest at this point, but also, even as a guest, I should be caring about how T feels. Good lesson for mama. I am rather proud and touched that Tesla clearly stated her feelings to me.

When dropping her off at preschool, I spent some time apologizing, saying that I agree, and next time I would be sure to let her choose too. And to make up, I'd get new books at the library so she could choose a book tonight. She requested "four books about dinosaurs." I love my little T.

I'll be at the library at lunch looking for dinosaur books : )

 

 

My niece and nephew in Paris

Baguettes, originally uploaded by inky.

 

Thoughts on dying and death

A bit heavy-handed, but I think about death off and on. My grandparents died what still feels recently, my living grandmother is not doing so well, my parents aren't getting younger, and me too, I am probably half way or more through my life. So I try to get used to and familiar with death as a way to prepare (??)

I recently watched a very well-done Frontline piece on assisted suicide, following 59 year old Craig Ewert's wish to die with dignity after living as much as he could with ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease). He travelled to Switzerland with his wife to do this, since it's more difficult in the U.S. By having the process and the moment of his death documented, he hoped to open the conversation around dying in the U.S. where people are afraid to face and talk about death in a practical manner, and for the most part do not graciously let people die when it's time.

In his words:

At this point, I've got two choices. If I go through with it, I die, as I must at some point. If I don't go through with it, my choice is essentially to suffer and to inflict suffering on my family and then die -- possibly in a way that is considerably more stressful and painful than this way. So I've got death,and I've got suffering and death. You know, this makes a whole lot of sense to me.

 

Today I read an incredible piece, "Hospice medical care for dying patients," in the New Yorker, by Atul Gawande. I highly recommend it. Its tagline:

Modern medicine is good at staving off death with aggressive interventions—and bad at knowing when to focus, instead, on improving the days that terminal patients have left.

It brings up issues everyone of us will need to face whether for ourselves or for family, and provides a very thoughtful perspective.

 

 

 

FB Like

Psst. If you "like" my blog via FB's little button on my left sidebar, when you leave comments on FB for my posts, they will show up on Kokochi too. Although I send my Kokochi posts to FB, I don't upload directly to it because want to keep my data. So if you could "like" my blog, then I'll get to keep your precious comments. Thanks!!!

So good - my mom and dad visit

The day Rachel and fam left to go home, my folks arrived from Tokyo. A bit busy getting things prepped, but it all worked fine. I was practically giddy picking my parents up at the airport.

Once home, we had lunch in the neighborhood, then later all together went to pick up Tesla at preschool. She was so happy, and over the next days, everyday, had her entourage to drop her off then pick her up at school. Delighted girl she was, and I was so touched at how Tesla  loved having her grandparents around.

↓ Tesla posing with my mom and her full-body art piece.

↓ Hanging out on our balcony, admiring lovely S.F. (but summer is cold - note what we're wearing)

↓ A special gift from my brother and me to my parents was a night at the Ritz for their wedding anniversary. As expected, it was splendid.

↓ Their fancy-pants bed.

↓ Every time my parents visit the Bay Area, they always go to their favorite restaurant. Dav and I didn't get to join as I goofed on calling early enough in the morning for reservations. Luckily I got at least them in!

↓ Did the DeYoung tour...

↓ And the carousel tour at GG Park.

↓ We also finally let froggie go (adopted for a few weeks from Camp Tipsy). We had been buying live crickets for froggie, but being stuck in a box can't be fun, so after feeding him up with fresh crickets, we found a little pond in GG, and bid farewell. I was amazed that he immediately went for the pond, and found a spot to wait for his next meal, so I'm confident he's doing well.

↓ Of course we took my folks to a Burning Man party at the Crucible in Oakland - a new scene for my parents!

↓ Plenty of walking around the city.

↓ And lots of good old daily stuff, such as reading a book to Tesla at bedtime.

(Here's a precious video of my dad reading to Tesla.)

The day I dropped my parents off at SFO for their return home, I genuinely was sad throughout the day, thinking ot them boarding their plane, their plane somwhere mid-Pacific, them landing in Narita, etc. It's far away, and especially with Tesla, I  wish we had a lot more time together. I really want to make sure Tesla gets time with my parents at least once a year...and eventually, we hope to move to Japan for a bit of time so Tesla can get to know Japan. Hopefully that'll work out : )

Finally met Mr. Zev

Geez, this is a few weeks back already, but one of my closest friends Rachel visited with hubby Cesar, and baby Zev. He's 10 months old now, and it was my first time meeting him since they moved to MA last year. I'm overall pretty good with friends living far away - I just pick up where we left off when I get the chance to meet up. I still feel close to my friends even if apart. But when there is a kid involved, boy, they grow so fast, and I miss out. Mr. Zev is already sitting up, about to crawl, babbles a lot, and is just so big! I'm glad to get to see Rachel and Cesar as parents, but the week they were here just zoomed by in a blink. The only pictures I got were the day they left!

Anyway, just wanted to mark their fab visit. Wishing then back sooner than later : )