Big weeks coming up

The first time my parents visited us.

Yesterday I went to the airport to get my parents. This is the third time they've visited Japan, in fact it is 14 years and one day since they first visited us in Japan.

The first time my parents visited we were living in
Hokkaido, the northern island of Japan.
We drove along the west coast of the island on an
incredible day where the sea was almost glass-like.
Great memories!

I don't go to the airport very often. It's a long way away from where we live, even though we live in Tokyo. I travelled through three prefectures yesterday. The airport isn't in Tokyo, it is out the other side in Chiba prefecture and we travelled back through the prefecture to the north of Tokyo called Saitama. The whole trip took six hours.

But it took them longer. They were up for nearly 24 hours. Australia is not as close as you think, once you factor in especially if you don't live close to an international airport. We were all pretty tuckered out by the end and a bit slow to get going this morning.

In order to blog I need my own quiet headspace to write. I can often manage it with just my family around (though I usually try to do it while they're all out of the house, at least for nine months of the year), however add two more people to the household and things get more hectic. Not to mention that it's been two years since I've seen them, so I want to spend time with them. So I won't be here that much in the next couple of weeks, but we do have some big events happening (that's why they're here):

26th (Friday): Middle school graduation (8th grade) for our middle son in the evening (along with a dinner for students and parents beforehand and dessert for everyone afterwards).
27th (Saturday): Parent-organised lunch at school for 8th graders and their extended families.
30th (Tuesday): Our eldest son's last assessment, which is a presentation that combines all the research he's done this year on a global issue: Gender Inequality in Sports. We're invited to this and he presents to a teacher panel who grade him.
31st (Wednesday): Parent-organised banquet for seniors and their parents. This one I've been very much involved in organising since September last year (I wrote a little bit about it here). It's a fancy affair and we'll have photos. I just hope it all goes well.
2nd (Friday): High school graduation for our eldest. Wow, I feel too young for this. During the week leading up to this our son also turns 18, officially an adult in his country of birth!
9th (Friday): School finishes for grades K - 11.

So I suspect that though I won't be here writing lots, I might be posting photos...