Zoom meet....

 And.

Another Zoom meet and greet.

Guess this summer will pass and we won't have seen Okaasan face to face again. So strange to think we delivered her to that care home last year in November. And we haven't been allowed to be in the same room as her since then.

She was rather puffy faced and hot looking on this Zoom meet.

We sang Happy Birthday - oh my God...the irony of those sentiments....and chatted at Okaasan and the nurses in screen view. Chat and waves. And then it was done. 10 mins is kind of hard to fill.

This weekend is the Bon Festival, when Japanese travel back to home towns and visit graves and remember ancestors. We don't have any of that to do, and I injured my toe (cut RIGHT next to the nail, but the doc says no infection and the toe nail is ok), so I can't go near water and kayak.

Spending my time close to home and enjoying meeting so many friends, their homes, my home, the beer garden. The Pandemic really showed us how valuable face to face time is with people we like, and it's nice to be able to meet and chat again.

Infection numbers are starting to level out and maybe go down here now, as scientists said they would. But, looking around a happy beer garden scene it seems normal is returning. Although - friends in the UK who saw my video of a beer garden commented on the plastic/wood table screens between drinkers. I guess in the UK all of that stuff has been done away with?

Here, at the beer garden - you have to go in at the entrance. temperature check, contact trace info and assigned seating, screens and a 90 min time limit.  But SO GOOD to sit outside and share a beer with friends.

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...