It’s the end of the school year and I’ve been in the process of getting “all the things” that everyone needs: crayons, pencils, bottles of glue, notebooks, new school indoor shoes, etc. And labels. So many labels. Sticker labels of all sizes. Laminated ones. Iron-on ones. Sew-on ones. Gym clothes labels. Swimsuit labels. All the… Continue reading All in a Name
Tag: glimpses
Graceful Exits
Well, guys… Are you still there? I’m still here. And I’d like you to know that I’ve survived the lowest ranks of PTA. I was quite nervous to begin with and my initial interactions within the meetings were quite humbling. But after several meetings, events and countless messages and confirmations and relays of information and… Continue reading Graceful Exits
PTA, SOS and other Acronyms
You know how when no one in a group wants to do a certain task and so everyone points a finger to nominate someone else? Well, that kinda happened to me, unawares. Several months before the end of the school year, I realized that I had suddenly been nominated to be the next contact person… Continue reading PTA, SOS and other Acronyms
MB and XYZ…
I find personality tests and differences fascinating. I’ve heard people say that it puts people into boxes and then people feel compelled to behave a certain way or excuse or promote behaviors based on it. Well, I disagree with the first, but can see the second happening. I think we all know that these tests… Continue reading MB and XYZ…
Please Won’t You Be My Neighbor?
About 10 days ago or so, we moved just up the street. You wouldn’t think that would be a big deal, but it was– packing up 5 people, 6 years worth of hand-me-downs for the kids, a kitchen, an office… all while keeping things running was more of a challenge than I anticipated. The last… Continue reading Please Won’t You Be My Neighbor?
Crossing Your T’s
It’s been a while since I’ve been able to post and a LOT has happened in the interim. I will probably write about all that later in a series that I’m thinking I’ll call “September Saga”. It was full of challenges, obstacles, God dropping things right in front of us, opportunities, grief, stress, answers to… Continue reading Crossing Your T’s
Smoking Car Syndrome
My first car was one that was passed around the family for a long time. It was a stick-shift which I grew to love, but was pretty old and rickety by the time I was finally graced with the privilege of driving it as my own. Still, it ran. And as a poor college student,… Continue reading Smoking Car Syndrome
Keeping Count
Last time I wrote about writing postcards (hagaki) as part of the way Japanese maintain relationships. Today, I want to mention another way that Japanese maintain relationships, which is through gift-giving. Gift-giving is a major thing here. Obviously, housewarming gifts are necessary when you visit a home (fruit is your go-to gift), but there are… Continue reading Keeping Count
The Hagaki Life
Japanese people, in general, are very thoughtful and considerate of the relationships they have in life. It can be seen in so many aspects, but in the next 2 posts I’ll talk about some of the things we’ve caught on to while living here. The first year my daughter was in preschool (it’s a 3… Continue reading The Hagaki Life
Summer “Break”
I’ve been a little MIA over the last few weeks. Not only have we had a number of projects going on in ministry here, but our kids have been on summer break. You know– that period of time where kids start asking for the next meal’s menu four minutes after they’ve put their dishes in… Continue reading Summer “Break”