Spring Break Day One

I'm getting back to normal life, and trying not to feel too guilty about having parties and buying presents and enjoying the spring days. In fact I'm starting to feel guilty about NOT feeling guilty every single day, after all one BILLION people are starving every day, 10 million or so are in slavery, 250 thousand died in the Haiti quake... it goes on. We should be having a food and clothing drive every week for these people. So I am getting back to normal life, except for the nuclear thing, which is making me more angry than scared. And confused, and wanting to bury my head in the sand because I am just so powerless to do anything but wait and see.

The alarm clock went off this morning! Which was fine, because I then had the exquisite pleasure of switching it OFF and going back to sleep. Erica woke up, started singing, and I said "shh". The other girls woke up and they all went downstairs, yay! I finally woke up at 9 when Kanji came home and told me the kids were downstairs ("yeah, I know, isn't it great!!" I wanted to say) and that I had to collect the rubbish net. What a great start to spring break! The Rubbish Nazi always brings it back anyway. Before you think K is a meany for telling me to get the net, HE put it out at 7am while I slept, so hugs and kisses to K, who understands my inability to function in the morning.

My plan for today was to do absolutely nothing, maybe read a book. I just want/need a totally obligation-free day without having a bunch of 'next, next, next' things stuck in my head. But then Kanji called, and wanted me to drive over to the next town to deliver a gift to his niece, who just graduated university and was heading to Fukuoka today, so it had to be RIGHT NOW. So, quick cup of tea, all children dressed and hair painstakingly brushed (Erica is developing an aversion to the brush lately) and we rocked up to K's work to collect the money envelope... and he called his sister to find that they are already in Fukuoka. Ooookay... you could have called her first!

Not pissed off at all, I should add. If there's one thing I've learned in family life, with big families on both sides and little people constantly being added to our little house, it's to go with the flow. In some ways I've come to even look forward to strange ways a day turns out so different from what I had envisioned.

So we drove to Haradas, as the my two and their two girls had promised each other yesterday to have another play date today. I was going to take them home, but their mother offered to look after all the girls in the morning, feed them, then bring them back after lunch. The plan was to continue playing in the yard, where they have constructed a restaurant out of the junk and rubbish floating around in what passes for a garden out the back of our house. It's now 1pm, and they are not back yet, but I expect them soon, then I can take Erica to bed - she has a mild fever - and possibly sleep myself, I've become quite the napping granny in my old age, I love having a wee lie-down...

Off now to balance the budget, and write a to-do list for the holidays. The basic goal is to go for a bike-ride/picnic every day, as Lena got a bike for her birthday, and K finally got the punctures fixed on our rusty shopping bike, which has a toddler seat, so Erica can ride along too. And also have a set chore to do, like the spare room, or cleaning out the medicine cabinet. Wish me luck!