The last few days with Mommy

Gack!  It’s been over a week since we dropped Mommy off at the airport, yet I haven’t written about it yet.  Fail!

So how did I spend those last few days with her, you ask?  Well honestly, it was very rushed!  We got back that Wednesday, and I had two more days of work that week.  That Saturday morning, Melissa asked me to take her to the bus station by 7AM so that she could catch the bus and go home for her vacation.  After she drove me an hour and a half in the pouring rain and flood when I came home, I felt that it was the LEAST I could do for her!  Mommy woke up and went with me.  Once we got back home, both of us fell asleep for another few hours before waking up around 9:30AM.

All of our friends were going to a magical waterfall place to swim that afternoon.  I say magical because from the description I was given, it really does sound like a magical, beautiful place!  Plus….it was very difficult and complicated to get to.  I asked Mommy if she wanted to go, but she said that she’d rather stay home, write in her journal, and pack.  I was conflicted as to either stay with Mommy or go to the magical waterfall.  Since it was her last day in Yunomae, I wanted to spend time with her. Mommy reassured me that I should go swimming with my friends, so I told her that I wouldn’t stay for long and would return pronto. 

We all met at Sara’s house in Nishiki, crammed into three cars, and journeyed down the winding mountain roads until I was utterly lost.  Krista was leading the way…thank goodness!  After turning onto several different un-named one lane roads, I was wondering if I’d ever find my way back! 

Once we got to the parking area, it was still a good ten minute hike down the mountainside to the waterfall.  Even though we were hot, sweaty, and disgusting by the time we reached it, the water was SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO COLD!!!!  It was like……mountain spring cold!  There was no creeping into the water.  If I had crept in an inch at a time, I guarantee I never would have made it in because I wouldn’t have WANTED to go in.    I, as everyone else did, canon balled in, and screamed at how frigid it was once I surfaced.  It was a terribly beautiful waterfall, though, and it was completely isolated!  No one bothered us as we swam. 

The current coming from the waterfall was incredibly strong.  We tried to swim close to it, but there was no way we could get even remotely close.  Instead, Krista spearheaded the movement to swim alongside the waterfall and swim under it.  I was all about it, being one of the initial people to swim over to it, gearing myself up for it UNTIL I was right beside it.  Having that huge amount of water dumping on you and hearing it thundering over you is a lot different than seeing it from across the way and saying “Hey, you know what would be cool?”  I kept thinking OMG, what if I drown?  OMG, what if I drown?  Alas, I gave into peer pressure and crawled along the side of the waterfall until I was right on it.  I held my breath and kicked against the rock wall, letting the current take me under and downstream.  It was exciting but probably not something I’d want to do again!

Since the water was so cold, we didn’t spend a lot of time in it.  We laid out on the rocks for a while, and it wasn’t until we were out of the water that Ian realized he made a BIG boo-boo.  Earlier in the day, he had put his cell phone in his swim trunks pocket……and then promptly forgot about it.  He didn’t think twice about jumping in the water, so that was all she wrote for that phone.    We tried to dry it out.  Ian took it apart and dried the individual pieces, we placed it in rice, but nothing worked.  When he plugged in the phone a day later, we had a glimmer of hope when the phone lit up, but then we watched it slowly, pitifully die.     

I left from the waterfall a little earlier than everyone else so that I could get back to Mommy.  Brian said that he had an event that night, so he wanted to leave with me.  Although we tried our best to retrace our route on the crazy twisting one lane mountain roads, we couldn’t and instead of coming out in Nishiki, we came out in the outskirts of Hitoyoshi.    Regardless, we were able to make our way back!  I dropped Brian off and took the Fruity Road home, stopping at one point to pick a couple of Easter lilies for Mommy.  Here they grow wild and in bunches.  When we came by that road earlier that morning to pick up Melissa, Mommy couldn’t believe how many were growing!  Therefore I stopped to pick her a few. 

I helped Mommy tidy up and wrap up a few last minute things, and we had a nice last night together.  The rest of my friends gathered at Margo’s house for dinner and games.  Mommy told me to go, but I told her that I had a whole year to hang out with friends.  I only had one more night with her.  We watched a few shows on Hulu, called Daddy to finalize plans to pick her up at the airport, and I went to Margo’s to pick up Ian later.

The following day we made the three hour trip up to Fukuoka to drop off Mommy.  Since Ian couldn’t drive, I had to do the whole thing.  (I was actually really tired by the time we got home!)  We ate one last meal together and then took Mommy to the airport.  Ian and I helped her check in, and before we sent her through security, we sat down and went over step-by-step details of what she’d need to do about spending the night in Tokyo’s Haneda airport and what to do and say when going through passport check and security back in the States.  Whenever we finally took her to security, it was hard to say goodbye.  Both Mommy and I started crying.  She later confessed to me that she cried the whole way through security, and as we were leaving, I couldn’t help but to cry.  I was trying to rush out of the airport so that I could get back to the comfort of my own car.  Ian said that people probably thought that he had hit me and I was trying to run away from him.    I hadn’t thought of that. 

And now that Mommy’s gone, our lives have pretty much gone back to normal……..at least normal for living in Japan.  I go to school every day, Ian goes to his classes and records his voice for tutorials, we have dinner together, go out with friends on the weekends, etc.  Back to the routine.  It’s weird to know that this is my second time around.  This time last year I was brand new, terrified, and unsure of A LOT.  This year I’m so much more comfortable with my life here and feel like I can enjoy it so much better.  So……here’s to a successful second year in Japan.  With August nearly being over, that means that I only have eleven more months of contract left!  Then it’ll be back to the States for a bit…..