Back in Jp. (Dad)

January 31, 2008

Well, things were about as complicated as expected during the Seattle visit. Dad is continuing in the recovery process, with support from all over the country, and especially the great pillars near home. Thanks everyone for your awesome support, time, attention, prayers, and the most perfectly-timed emails and phone calls.

Mom and I decided Sunday night that the nail salon should be closed on Monday morning, so she and I could be present to help my dad through a particularly intimidating procedure. We thought having us both there, and having the interpretation for the doctor and nurses would be helpful. So we canceled dinner plans with the family and drove to the ferry boat. We sat in the car on the ferry, on our way to the nail salon about an hour away to call customers, feed the fish, and hang a sign on the door about the emergency closing. In casual conversation, she taught me a Vietnamese word that I really like - anh hung. Together, these words mean "hero".

Joe and Travis see and hear it often from me because the word "anh" alone also means brother, and precedes the person's name, like "Anh Travis". When Mom explained the meaning of anh hung, it really made me think about Anh Joe, and all that he has done to preserve our family. Growing up, he was always in the bunk above mine, or the room next to mine. Since high school, though, he has been across the country. It wasn't easy on my parents to have him far away, but his distance always reminded us to celebrate when we were all in town. He also did a pretty marvelous job keeping in touch with the cousins down South - people Dad will be so glad to see this Lunar New Year (Feb 7), and keeping the families connected between the coasts.

This trip, I saw him work a full-time job, maintain open lines with people all over the country regarding Dad's progress, chauffer Mom, Grandma, and I, and still spend countless hours in the hospital just waiting with the rest of us.

As expected, we suffered our boilerplate bickering, but he even managed to get in some reassuring words. I knew things had changed when he inquired delicately instead of teasing me for crying, when he assured me things would be taken care of instead of denying my effort to help. He's doing a lot.

It's not hard to see that being across the country or an ocean might be difficult during this time. When I boarded the plane back to Tokyo, I had a feeling that I would only be back to collect my things. I have decided to take a leave of absence from the law program - just one quick semester. I will return to work in Harrisburg in May and to Temple Phila in the fall, but in the meantime will be eating Mom's ramen, not the kind I've been getting from a vending machine.

It's true that my lifelong dream is to be a sort of globetrotter; I believe we should travel outward and look in. I know catching the cub here in Tokyo is an immense opportunity, but this trip was about courage for me. I wanted to know that I could brave a foreign world and not just survive, but enjoy. I haven't had but three weeks to catch my cub, but I do believe that courage is measured in many ways. I am proud to say that - maybe for the first time in my life - I am not afraid to work a little TLC into the meticulous, retirement-oriented five-year plan.