Friday, March 20, 2009

Non-stop talking

I am rubbing my eyes and yawning as I write this. Yesterday our good friends, the Erickson's, came in from Washington state for a day with us. Sandra and I stayed up talking until 2:30 am! And we talked practically non-stop in the car as we did sightseeing touristy things too. We are probably going to have laryngitis tomorrow.

17 years ago, I took my kids to a neighborhood park and happened to see two little blond boys about Takumi's age playing on the swings. I asked if they lived nearby and they went running across the street to get their mother who joined us and thus began a close friendship. There was a little sister close to Leiya's age too and Sandra and I hit it off right away as did the husbands. For the next year and a half, we often did things together and one time when the American grandmas were visiting in Japan at the same time we all went off to a public bath which was a great adventure for everyone (I was especially proud of the grandmas).

But the Erickson's returned to the States a couple of years later (leaving us their furniture and their cat!) and we attempted to keep in touch by mail. Hmmph. Sandra isn't so great at keeping in touch. She'd send Christmas cards in February if at all. But the family did drive down to California one summer so we were able to see each other once 10 years ago.

Kids grow up. Husbands change jobs. Mothers get involved with friends and hobbies and life in general and 5 years would go by when we didn't really communicate. Out of the blue the younger son would call and say he was visiting Japan and wanted to come visit for a night. A few more years would go by and he'd call again and say he was now married and had a baby and was working in Japan. And then a couple of weeks ago the message arrived saying that his parents were coming to visit Japan and would like to see us! And that's what we did yesterday.

The Erickson's had to rent a car and husband Mark did a great job of driving on the narrow left-hand side roads. We met up in town and Sandra joined me in my car (Mark following) and drove the 30 minutes back home non-stop talking. We dropped in at a senbei (cracker) shop and enjoyed sampling senbei and talking. The whole family joined my evening English classes and chatted with my students and Tetsu finally came home so we all enjoyed a late dinner and more talking. And as I say, Sandra and I stayed up half the night filling each other in on the years.

I was most worried about the Ericksons' reaction to our menagerie but thankfully Baby Eden just loved cats! And Toi especially seemed to find Baby Eden very interesting. So the kitties kept the baby happy while the rest of us talked some more. I think some cat did open the guest room door in the middle of the night and another ate one of Sandra's bags, but since Baby Eden was kept occupied everyone was very forgiving.

Aren't these a cute bunch of pictures? No. None of us are baby abusers. Baby Eden closed herself up in the cage herself! Baby Eden really thought the kitty cage was a wonderful place to play and crawled in and was quite happy opening and closing the door and letting Toi come in too when he was investigating the pink creature in his cage.

This morning (minus working Tetsu) we drove up to the beautiful lake and waterfall in the outer mountains of Nikko and of course it was chat, chat, chat all the way up and all the way back!

The Ericksons have gone on their way to their next stop on their vacation and I'm ready for a nap.

11 comments:

Mrs. Goodneedle said...

What precious times to be treasured, love the photos of the baby in "her" cage! I know you had a grand time reconnecting. Have a nice nap... ;)

Sew Create It - Jane said...

Sounds like you've had a wonderful visit and have rekindled your friendship. I love the pictures of Toi and the baby...what a patient cat. Most would run and hide...Toi must have a wonderfully sweet nature.

Chocolate Cat said...

There is nothing better than catching up with old friends especially ones who were so special at one time. Great photos of Eden in the cage!!!

Christine Thresh said...

I gave you a "Sisterhood Award" on my blog today.

Rae Ann said...

It must have been wonderful to see your friends again. The baby is a "hoot" in Toi's cage. I hope it won't be another 10 years before you are able to visit again.
Rae Ann

Janet C said...

This is so precious. Last Christmas, I re-connected with an old school friend whom I have not seen for 30 years! Like you, we talked non-stop - so much to catch up on! lol. Before we parted we promised to stay in-touch (her mum still lives in the same town as I)!

The Calico Quilter said...

What a wonderful story. Everyone has people in their past that just seem to drop out of sight; we wonder what happened in their life but can't find out. How nice you were able to reconnect.

BrendaLou said...

I call these friends "kindred spirits" (from Ann of Green Gables). It doesn't matter how much time has gone by since your last contact....you just pick up and run with the friendship again. Glad you reconnected. This summer I'm going to get together with my old Blue Bird group. We haven't seen each other in 45 years when we were all 13. OOPS...I think I just gave away my age.

sewprimitive karen said...

What a clever baby to do all that exploring, and dear Toi, what a good kitty to hang out with a baby.

quiltmom said...

What fun you had together Tanya and what nice memories you made- Isn't it funny how babies will choose to play- it probably was appealing to play where the kitties would visit.
It is always nice to reconnect with old friends..
Thanks for sharing your lovely adventure!
Regards,
Anna

Shasta said...

I'm glad you got a chance to see with your friends again and have a good time chatting. When my friend came over one day, we wound up talking all night. It was a huge surprise when the alarm clock came on!

You have stores that only sell crackers? Is that an equivalent to our donut shops?