Jan: Rang in the new year in Iowa by our lonesomes. My brother was back in DC, my dad was in Dallas, and Maggie was with her "BOYFRIEND" David. That's ok. Motoaki and I got subway and watched TV.
Feb: The main highlight was that I went to Sendai to do an English camp with kids who had been in the Tohoku disaster. I was blown away by their English ability and their thoughts/feelings about the current state and future of Japan.
Mar: Another school year came to an end and I said good-bye to my favorite class. I had been their teacher all three years of JHS and really felt like I knew every student. I also said good-bye to a lot of great teachers: Ellie, Mike, Amy, Kym, Chie, Nick, Katie,...and my boss Carolyn. We had a wild night out for St. Patrick's day to really send everyone off. My dad and sister came for a short visit and I finally got the low-down on my dad's fiance, Sheila. And I ended the month with an amazing trip to Vietnam with Amy and Kym. It would have been more amazing if I hadn't been sick with...
April: A BABY! At the tail end of March/beginning of April we discovered that we were pregnant. Just what I needed as I started a new school year with new responsibilities as a head teacher for Okayama-ken. Despite a lot of exhaustion, I was able to welcome my new intern, Michael Douglass, and some new teachers- Alice, Reiza, Andrew, and Curtis.
May: Spent Golden Week not doing anything except walking a 5k (ok so I got lost and it was less than that as I turned around early), shopping, and sleeping. Spent the rest of the month trying to stay awake at work. I would like to say that the only thing making me sleepy was the little baby I was growing, but truth was I had to deal with a lot of drama at home due to the surprise engagement of my father to Sheila. Looking back, I was a fool to make such a big deal over everything, but at the time we all were feeling hurt by what we thought were too many secrets and lies. On a more positive note, started the Maniwa Book Club and had about 12 members for our first meeting!
June: Dad, Sheila, Maggie, and David came for what was a fun yet somewhat strained trip. We all managed to be polite but there was definitely trouble just beneath the surface.
July: Ended the school first school term and managed to be a lot more social this month by going to BBQs and hosting a party at our house. Said good-bye to Amy and Dan, two people who had been in Maniwa for a long time. Started swimming and getting serious about the whole prepping for a baby thing. Headed home at the very end of the month.
Aug: Was a crazy jam-packed month back in the US. I spent the first week shopping and attending a birth class in Ames. Found out we were having a girl so I could start buying seriously. Spent the second week road-tripping out to DC with my Dad, Grandma, and sister. Picked up Motoaki and had a wonderful time seeing family and celebrating my brother's wedding. Had the trip of a life time touring DC and New York with my dad and grandma. Though I had been to all of the sites before, this was Motoaki's first time, and sadly, my dad's last. We didn't know it at the time but it has become a trip we can look back on as us being together and us being happy. After that I rode home cross-country with Dad and Grandma and just listening to their stories and banter. The following week I made a quick dash to Minnesota to check in with friends and to buy a lot before spending my last few days in Iowa with my sister, aunt, and friend Ashley.
Sept: Had another busy month at work as we had added a lot of new teachers that needed to be welcomed and observed. Had yet another sports day. It was very different as this year I couldn't really participate- neither in the teacher student race nor the karaoke after party...
Oct: A really crazy month as I raced to get everything done before going on maternity leave. I welcomed the teacher replacing me, Liz, and got her ready for teaching my classes while I would be gone. I also got busy again coaching speech contest, though this year was a lot easier as we only had 4 students entered from my school rather than 11. Added to all of this craziness was the dog, Tom, Motoaki and I adopted despite knowing better. By knowing better I mean that it seemed a little much for us to adopt a dog a month before my due date, but we couldn't (or I couldn't) pass up a cairn terrier. Plus, we thought it might be a good friend for Finn. I was a little sad to miss Halloween this year but realized a pregnant woman had no sense being at an all-night party.
Nov: Started out well as my students took second and third place in the speech contest. I went on maternity leave and spent my first week going to the mall and walking the dogs a lot. On Nov 11th I had an amazing baby shower put on by the girls in town. They had the great idea of all giving me a children's book since I already had a lot of baby stuff. Unfortunately all of that happiness was cut short as I got news from home that my father had passed away. Added to the shock and grief was the fact that I couldn't go home due to being so pregnant. Spent the rest of the week calling home a lot and just vegging in front of the TV. Not much changed the following two weeks. My due date came and went and secretly I was relieved as I was starting to get nervous about birth and being a mother.
Dec: Started off the first day calm and relaxed and then got hit by surprise as our little girl, Robin Nagisa, decided to appear on the 2nd. You can read the previous post for more on that. She has pretty much monopolized the whole month. We managed to go to church on Christmas and to have Christmas dinner with some friends, but other than that the holidays didn't really happen for us. And in a way that was ok. Without my dad it would have been too hard to do everything we normally do.
So you probably can't get it from the short bullet points, but 2012 was definitely emotional and full of ups and downs. Though it will be a memorable year that we will all talk about for the rest of our lives, I am secretly glad to see it end. 2013 already has a lot of high points to look forward to. I'll be going home in March to help settle my parents estate and to show Robin off to family. My brother and his wife are expecting in July and we will all be together for my sister's wedding in December. Though Robin is a cute and calm baby, I look forward to her developing into her own person.
Happy New Year!!
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