Derailed

Sometime during the crazy days of summer every day life got off track.  Thankfully, laundry dries quickly in the summer so it stayed out of the muck and mire of the wreckage, but somewhere, buried deep, menu planning and house cleaning got lost.  To some this might not be a big deal, but for me it is important to my sanity.  Our schedule is crazy enough without needing to plan meals on the fly, especially meals that have enough left overs to cover lunches to be taken to school and/or work.

This week I managed to find the "menu planning" in the rubble and pull it out.  Over the years I have tried weekly planning, monthly planning, on line planning, menu cards, whiteboards, etc.  I like the online planning idea, but have not found a site that I really like.  At the church bazaar on Saturday, I came across a simple weekly planner and decided to give it a shot.

Three days in, I am liking it.  The left side has place for a menu while the right side is a blank, lined page that is perfect for a grocery list.  I can plan just one week or I can plan several weeks.  I can skip ahead to pencil in special events.

I am hopeful that this will help put nutritious meals on the table with enough left overs to make lunch boxes for both kids (Mon-Fri) and Jerry & I (Fri & Wed respectively).  I am also hopeful that store bought obento will become the rare occasion rather than the go to and that our food budget will reflect the change!  All I know for certain is it has been nice having a menu this week!

Next up, should be finding the cleaning schedule...

Can I just hire a maid instead??

Lies I Tell Myself

Lies... I hate lies!  I hate being lied to!  I don't trust liers!  I don't trust myself right now...

"Things will calm down after ___" I've been filling in the blank with something new ALL summer!!  That might be another lie because, come to think about it, I'm pretty sure this is a chronic lie I've been telling myself... Ummm... forever.

This summer has just seemed busier than usual: English camp, home stay, Fuji climb, Sunday School over nighter... just to name a few of the big things. 

September has had something each and every weekend.  October is looking slightly better, but there are two extra events; Multicultural Disaster Seminar and a Halloween event at the library, that I am doing. Both of these events are taking more work than I initially thought they would. 

Looking at my calendar life may settle down a little in October and November, but then again, my computer has been in the shop most of September.  When I looked at my calendar this morning, I realized that at least two events had not transferred from the computer to my phone.  I need to double check on line to make sure everything synced correctly before I can know for sure.  I think it might be wise to fill in the blank with Christmas, because Christmas break IS coming!

Quite The Day

Today was Cancer Center day meaning we needed to be out the door by 7:15 in order to make it for Joshy's 9:00 appointment.  I woke up feeling less than the best, but he had to go so we went.  We got a slightly late start because, well I don't move the fastest when I don't feel well.

On the drive there, Joshy discovered the window button... Down went his window letting the rain in and the cool dehumidifier air out - silly boy!   So glad I have the master window controls and a lock button!!

At the hospital things went well, but slow. It still breaks my heart to see little bitty ones there.  Little ones just shouldn't get Cancer!  BTW - September is childhood cancer month, please, please, please register to be a bone marrow donor!   

Labs were drawn and results finally came...

And...

Joshy's platelets were NORMAL!  Not just squeaking into normal, but very normal!  His white cells were normal as well and His red cells & hemoglobin were just a hair below normal!   His labs have not looked this good in nearly 5 years!  Even his liver functions were only a little high and his potassium level held well in the normal range even thought we had weaned him off the potassium blocker medicine 2 weeks ago.  

 

The doctor was thrilled.  He even mentioned a word, I'm almost afraid to type... なおしった, which roughly translates cured!   With this good news came another tiny step in the immune suppression drug weaning.  This continues to be a very delicate process of lowering the dose 0.1ml (2x/day) every 2-3 months.  From tonight Joshy is down to 0.5ml.  At this rate, he will be almost finished by next year at this time!!   The danger of dropping the dose too fast is that his antibodies could start attacking itself again and we will be back at square one - not something we want to do, so we go s.l.o.w!!

There is still the need to be extra careful, especially during the winter, that Joshy does not get sick.  Illness will complicate matters, not to mention slow down the immune suppression weaning.  Thankfully, Joshy has only had 2 hospitalizations so far this year a while blood counts fell, they didn't drop into the danger, need a transfusion zone like they did the winter before.  This is a good sign, but we are still on doctors orders to avoid colds.

An added gift also came today - we don't have to go for a check up next month!  We are now on an every two month check up schedule.   Joshy still has monthly check ups at the local hospital where his blood is monitored, but a 5 minute drive vs an hour and a half... Woohoo!!!  This also saves us about $50 in gas and highway tolls and roughly a whole day.  I think I am almost as excited about this as the lab results.

Then so as to not have a boring drive home, Joshy added to his skill set... he opened his door, well attempted to O_o  Thankfully, because the car was moving the automatic door simply beeped & loosened the catch rather than fully opening!!  Joshy seemed rather pleased with himself, but was quite a typical teen when I stopped & tried to get a picture of his mischievously grinning face.

 

This evening I am feeling much better emotionally even though physically I'm still not up to par.  I have narrowed it down though...  The wet, rainy weather is making the air heavy and my asthma is not liking it.  Pass my inhaler and I'll feel better as long as I take  life a little bit easy until the current weather passes.  LORD willing I can avoid catching a cold!

Thinking Through Feelings

Fuji left me exhausted and sore.  Add several nights of restless sleep, by Tuesday I was a crabby wreck.  I should likely go back and attempt to erase Tuesday, but alas that is not possible.  However, taking time to sort out my feelings about the whole Fuji experience is a good direction to go in.

**Frustration**

While frustration still goes at the top of the list, I am trying to bump it down or off the list all together.  I have tried to think back to everything I read and all the conversations I had with people about what to expect.  I've wracked my brain trying to figure out if I am just stupid and didn't understand or maybe I am just not capable of asking correct questions in order to get the information needed.   I don't want to believe that friends deliberately left out details, but to be honest that thought has run through my mind, especially when stuck in the middle of a rocky hell unable to move because of shear raw terror.  It has taken a lot of effort to dislodge those negative thoughts, but they are slowly lessening.  I am beginning to think that climbing Fuji is akin to child birth - one forgets the pain.

Now that I managed to get a decent nights rest and am not as sore, I am seeing things more clearly.  I did find one picture that showed an area between 7th & 8th station and stated that it was rocky.  The picture doesn't look at all like the "reality" my panicked mind saw but I did find that at least 1 place says it is rocky terrain, not just rocky landscape, which is what I was expecting.

**Accomplishment**

Mild accomplishment is starting to make the list of feelings. Even though we did not make it to the top, we still made if further than a lot of people.  We saw several people who only hiked from 5th station to 6th station.  *I would gladly hike between 5th and 6th station any time.

**Amazement**

The awesomeness, the grandeur, the amazing glory of God's creation is pushing itself to the forefront.  This is the memory I want.  Had I never gone, never battled the fear that nearly left me paralyzed and hyperventilating on the side of the mountain I would not have seen the sunrise above the clouds.

As I continue to process through the good, the bad, and the ugly, I am becoming glad that I went.  I still don't want to go again, but it was still a worthwhile experience!

Fuji Wonderings

This past weekend Jerry & I managed to sneak in a get-a-way to Mt. Fuji.  The original plan had been set for last summer as a 30th anniversary adventure, but alas, a broken foot put the plan on hold.

Jerry has climbed Mt. Fuji twice before and thoroughly enjoys it.  I haven't wanted to make the climb but since I have developed a love of hiking, his musings of the experience started to perk my interest.  Our original plan was to start at the very bottom and hike up to the 5th station, the point where most climbers start.  At that point we would decide if we were going to continue to the top or not.  The new plan changed to starting at 5th station.

We headed out early and drove to Mt. Fuji, about 5 hours.  We then needed to acclimate to the altitude for about 2 hours before stating the climb.  This is needed to help prevent altitude sickness.  We meandered around the station, err... Tourist trap.

No, I did not climb in flip flops!  I just didn't want to put my boots on before I had to.

The start was very foggy.

The early part of the climb was pleasant as the weather cleared.

Then things started getting more difficult.  Jerry had forgotten just how steep and rocky the climb was.  No one else had warned me either.  I was tired by this point, having already driven 5 hours, and my fear of heights and falling had me near panic.  I had no idea that some points would be almost like free rock climbing ( those who actually free climb will laugh at this, but to me that is how it felt).

 

We finally made it to the mountain hut just one stop below the 8th station.  It was already dusk.  We had been climbing for a good 5 hours.  We stopped for the night, paying about twice what we had budgeted, but we at least had a sleeping bag to call home.  If we had continued this is what we would have faced.

Originally, we had planned to get up in the middle of the night to finish the climb in order to see the sunrise from the top.  That didn't happen.  I simply could not face the mountain in the dark.  So we stayed at the hut and caught the sunrise from there - breath taking!

 
 
 
After sunrise we continued onwards and upwards.
 

 
 

Looking back from 8th station we could see the hut we had stayed in ( the tiny blip, lower right by the cloud line) with the 8th station hut being on the left.  At 8th station I saw something else... The access road that lead over to the descending trail! Hallelujah!!!  While Jerry check to make sure that it was a way to get down, I talked with another climber.  She said something I'll not forget, "My friends told me this was just a hike.  I'm not sure WHERE they hike, but this is not a hike in my book!"

So... At 8th station we turned back.  It was a good decision.  I distinctly remember a few comments about steep spots near the top... Ummm... Dear just what have we done if these are not steep?!?  I also remember some conversations while planning this trip..."there are a few rocky places near the top that you need to climb up."  Ummm... Dear if what we have been climbing are not the rocky spots what are they?

Fuji is beautiful.  We made it down in one piece. We are still happily married with no divorce papers being filed!  Am I going to climb again?

 
 There is a saying that "Everyone should climb Fuji once, but only a fool climbs it twice."

I am not a fool!

 

Crossroads

Sunday was such a blessing.  The joy & comfort of worshiping in ones native language is amazing!  The message was thought provoking as well.  I have been pondering it off and on all week.  Yesterday when I was out with a dear friend we talked about it and this blog began to write itself.

Jeremiah 6:16 (NIV)

16 This is what the Lord says:

“Stand at the crossroads and look;

    ask for the ancient paths,

ask where the good way is, and walk in it,

    and you will find rest for your souls.

    But you said, ‘We will not walk in it.’

Stand at the crossroads.  Each and every day we stand at crossroads...  Many of these crossroads are small and may not make a big impact on your life...   Do I eat watermelon or have another hamburger?  Apple pie or peach?  Some of these crossroads are bigger... Do I go out with friends or do I stay home?  Do I buy ___ or save my money?  Some of the crossroads are huge... Do I marry him or not?  Do we buy that house?

The Bible tells us to stand at the crossroads and LOOK.  We should not make decisions lightly.  We need to contemplate our choices, even the small ones.  However the bigger the decision the more careful we need to be.  We need to stop & look.  We need to seek out help from "the ancient paths" - from GOD. From God's word.  From those who have walked with the LORD longer than we have.

We need to look for the "good way" and walk in it.

Philippians 4:8

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true,whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.

When we do this, then and only then will we be walking in the Light.  It is then that the Lord will bless us.  However, like the Israelites of old, too many times we stand at the crossroads and choose to NOT take the right path.  Or we simply fail to stand and look, but charge full speed ahead.  Then we wonder why God has forsaken us.

If we chose to eat only junk food, we shouldn't be surprised when we gain weight.

If we chose to not reach out to people, we shouldn't be surprised when people don't reach out to us.

If we chose to buy that new shiny gadget that we really cannot afford, we shouldn't be surprised when we don't have money for important things.

When we ignore God's warnings & the advice of older saints, we shouldn't be surprised when the choices we made fall apart.

If we fail to stand at the crossroads and look, we set ourselves up to fall.  Fall on our faces, Fall away from God.

Each of us needs to remember to Stop, Stand, & Look to the LORD as we make the many decisions, big and small, in life.

Long & Short Of It

Seems to me that travelers are portrayed in two distinct lights; either all pulled together, fresh, perky, and clean or the Home Alone madman dash.  After just having spent roughly 2 full days, 45 hours to be more precise, traveling I do believe that much depends the combination of the group dynamics along with the point in transit.  Our group started at the pulled together, fresh, perky, excited and ended more sleep deprived & disheveled, but still excited.  Thankfully, there was no mad dashing involved!

The main part of the group met at the Kashiwazaki station at 3:30 Thursday.  We met up with our last member of the group in Nagaoka before we boarded the Shinkansen.  In Tokyo we met up with what felt like the entire population of Niigata prefecture all jam paced onto one train O_o  *Note to self, remember rush hour and Tokyo trains in general when making travel plans & reservations!!  We finally managed to arrive, check in, and make it to our rooms at an airport hotel by 9:30pm.  Yes, it took us 6 hours of travel get us to the airport vicinity!

Friday morning was airport time.  Baggage claimed (most of us had wisely shipped our bags ahead to the airport) we headed to the check in counter where we entered into a counter jumping contest.  Me to airport staff: "Which counter should we check in at?"  Staff: "Go to counter L"  Next Staff person: "Go to counter O"  Next Staff person: "Go to counter P. Use this scanner to check in."  Next Staff person: "Seems you cannot use the self check in,  Go to counter Q"  Whew, we still managed to gt checked in in a fairly timely manner.

On to Immigration...

The students whizzed right through.  I needed 3 shots to "whiz" through.  First time, I didn't have the correct form.  Things have changed and I did not see the tables set up with reentry paperwork so I went to the counter with nothing more than my passport, boarding pass, & foreign resident card.  The officer scanned my passport & foreign resident card and told me to fill out "THIS side" of the paper he gave me.  Second time... you must fill out the other side as well.  Third time, with paper fully filled out, I whizzed right through. 

In Dallas/Fort Worth the students got to experience the 3rd times the charm fun of immigration.  I must say that was more frustrating and stressful for all involved - even those of us who whizzed right through and had to wait!  BUT eventually everyone was allowed to enter the good old US of A.

We had two flights: Tokyo to Dallas and Dallas to Detroit.  Both flights were pretty typical and went without complications.  I did enjoy the privileged of flying without a special needs child.  I actually managed to watch, and even enjoy, 2 movies.  I slept some, read some, likely experienced what a normal person does on a flight...odd, very odd.

In Detroit we were met by Jenn.  Jenn was our summer intern a few years back and this year she is the state side coordinator for our home stay.  She is also the church bus driver!  She got us from Detroit to Butler, in good time.  We arrived at Christ's Church at Butler just after 8pm local time Friday or 9am Japan time Saturday.

Now for the fun to begin!