Hello all...
Just when you thought you were free of my madness, I have returned. I like to keep you on your toes y'know....
Right now I am typing this to you from Pleasant Hill, California. Beneath my fingertips is my laptop, which is sitting upon my Mother-in-law's dining room table. At my elbow is a massive pile of heavy high school books which we toted in our suitcases from Japan for Patrick and Aya's continued online edification (and which we will have to tote back to Japan when we return on April 29th).
We are back in California for just under 2 months so that Patrick and Aya can take a few required state tests. This could be the first time in my life that I am thankful for standardized tests....a fact that I find a tad unsettling, so I'm choosing not to dwell upon it.
In the time we have been here, we have been driving hither and yon, visiting family and friends, schools and teachers, students and acquaintances. I have eaten my beloved Taco Bell and Aya has sipped her beloved Jamba Juice and Patrick has eaten his weight in his beloved Red Vines.
So I have been given reason to consider the definition of "home".
Folks claim "home is where the heart is" and "home is a state of mind", which is all very poetic and deep and all that.
But I do wonder....
For us, Japan is home in ways that California could never be. And California is home in a way that Japan could never be.
And just as I cannot imagine my life now without the mesmerizing and often quirky beauties of Japan, I cannot imagine my life without the embrace of family and friends in California.
Japan is home.
California is home.
Home....
The brick walls and ready embrace of Brookfield School is home.
The heavy gallon jugs of milk is home.
Tortillas and salsa and vivid golden cheddar cheese is home.
Steering a car down the right hand side of the street is home.
Flipping across radio stations is home, the flashes of Spanish, Arabic, Chinese and English words and music delighting my ear.
Even the easy and guilty comprehension of overheard conversation is home.
I don't love Japan less because I love being in California.
And I don't love California less because I love living in Japan.
My world has simultaneously become larger and smaller.
And I wouldn't have it any other way.
Until next time.....
