Birthday memories....

 

Long, LONG ago when we were all a bit younger....

The happy family in our messy kitchen. I think this scene was captured by a Japanese artist who was doing a photo project about foreigners in Japanese families, or something.

Anyway.

We sent this happy scene to Okaasan in our birthday card to her last week because she reached 92 years young, but of course we couldn't be with her and will have to sing Happy Birthday to her next week over Zoom.

Remembering years past when we took her out for a big dinner of crab, making sure to control her intake of sake and celebrating a life of daughterhood, wifely cooking duties, super mum and more.

7th wave of Covid is roaring around in Japan at the moment. Daily new infections are topping 7,000 in Hokkaido, but it's summer holidays with many visitors in town and summer events happening. The care home is still on online visits only.

I've got a few empty days in my work schedule, and visits from out of town friends...the beer garden...some kayaking....to enjoy. And then I stubbed my unsocked toes on a metal door frame and did a nasty cut just below the toe nail - dripped blood all over a museum carpet and was luckily helped by an old man who had bandaids in his pocket :-)

Now I'm a-hobbling, putting my foot up a lot to stop the bleeding and swelling...and kind of wondering if I should go to a doctor and have the toe nail ripped off by an expert.

Would you like a photo of THAT??? No, I think not!

Online visiting

 Waving at a screen visit, again.

Okaasan in bed, with a tube up her nose and her hands cocooned in cotton to stop her messing with the tubes...

Both of us squeezed in front of the computer, trying to remember to look directly at the camera as we chat excessively brightly and wave.

10 mins of chat, waves, forced laughter. Our manzai (comedy double act) routine.

Okaasan looked...well, actually her face looked bloated and red. But she smiled, she teared-up a little and she made pouty movements with her lips. So we assumed she understood the experience, and was happy?

I hear from friends and students that some care homes are allowing family visits again. My hospital staff English classes may restart after a two and a half year break. Sapporo is full of summer festivals.

Lots of normal life.

But not able to visit and sit with our old lady yet.

A visit! A visit!!

 A visit is in our sights!

Letter from the care home to announce they are lifting some of then COVID protection rules and will resume online visits - once a month for 10 mins/by reservation etc.

The letter also revealed that April to June the care home had nearly 100 infections - residents and staff. Hence the closing down of all non-necessary activity.

So, we've booked in for an afternoon at the end of the month - 10 mins of loud, cheerful chat and waving at the computer screen.

It's a start. A small start. Let's hope it progresses to face to face meetings, hand holding and ....wow...maybe even wheelchair pushing allowed beyond the care home doors?

Hokkaido summer is SO short, the chance of good enough weather to take an old lady out in her wheelchair is very small - this is the third summer Okaasan hasn't been outside for anything more than building/ambulance transfers. We hope...

Here we are. Another glorious cherry blossom season in Japan.

And no Okaasan to enjoy us it with us.

Bugger Covid.

She is still locked away in a care home/hospital. Basically in a bed, with tubes going in and out. Kind nursing staff coming and talking to her in loud, happy voices.

We discovered this week that even an online meeting is out of the question at the moment. The staff said they aren't doing it at the moment because it takes up staff time, and they are trying to limit staff movement around the hospital.

So. We can't even see her on a computer screen and wave.

Covid new infections have remained pretty constant this spring in Japan, high but not health service and life threatening. The Golden Week holiday came and went, with the expected rise in new case numbers after it. But life plods on.

In fact the Prime Minister started talking about opening Japan to foreign tourists sometime. At first highly controlled tour groups, with approved agencies - and only from countries where the Japanese government thinks test results are valid...such as Singapore, Australia and America. And the numbers of new entries per day will increase to 20,000. Still FAR short of the average 70,000 a day in normal times.

But. All of that aside.

We still can't visit Okaasan and take her out to see cherry blossoms.