Ongoingness.

Snow, snow, snow here....worked off the Xmas excesses with a LOT of snow clearing and skiing.

Saturday early morning I went with Yujiro to the ski resort he was working at - horrendous two hours drive in the snowstorms reminding me why he SHOULDN'T come home between working days. But I enjoyed 3 hours of skiing in deeeeeep powder....too much snow really!
Then a quiet weekend with Okaasan. She insisted on going out Sunday, so I walked her to the subway station and then she walked herself home in the dark of early evening.

Yesterday Yujiro was home and the Care Manager came to do a regular monthly visit - Okaasan was a bit negative about the hula class, got shown the cell phone video of herself expressing a miniscule amount of enthusiam last week...and will be trying ballroom dancing next....:-)
Yujiro also talked to the manager about our February problem: both he and I will probably be away for 3 nights working. He will be ski teaching for Chinese New Year and I'll be a "Charisma" Travel Expert at a tourist business seminar.....MUCH more about that later....a 45 minute speech in Japanese is looming in my life.

Anway.
What to do with Okaasan? (and cats for that matter...I am casting around for cat sitters...pet hotels).
OKaasan really can't be left alone for 3 nights. Even if we order in food delivery. Her mood alone for 3 days and nights will go WAAAAAY down and she'll burn every pan in the kitchen trying to cook rice/water/eggs.
I don't want to get into the habit of asking Friend with Baby to come in and help - it's not fair on her and we have to start using public assistance for our situation.

Sapporo's Day Care system means we can't get a one off home visit for free - only regular home visits are free - so we'll have to pay for someone to come in and cook/chat/check on Okaasan. The Day Manager is going to check for us.

It's a hassle, but necessary - I'm hoping he and I will actually be able to go away together sometime. It takes planning, with two cats and an old lady - but as a couple we need it.

Some Japanese friends/students have expressed surprise when I mention creating "couple time", I guess it's a Western concept? The whole humdrum life thing of family responsibility/work/shopping necessities - I used to be an avid Cosmo magazine reader, so I learned that men and women have to do stuff together as a couple sometime to "keep the spark alive in your relationship".