To warm up we went to the Shimoda Mall to purchase Happy Bags. New Year's Day is much like Black Friday in the US. There were people lined up in the cold to enter the mall. Once we got in, we were assaulted with noise, crowds, and music. Many of the workers in the stores held megaphones to advertise their wares. Most of the stores had sealed bags labeled for 1,000 en up to 10,000 en. The bags are purchased blind with items from the store inside. We each picked a few bags and had fun discovering what was inside.
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| Happy smiles for 2019! |
Greetings from Provo, UT! I am a lurker on your blog for the past year. We are an Air Force Family as well, (retired 21 years!), living in Provo. For 18 years, I worked at BYU for ROTC: first the Army, and then the Air Force. So, I've spent the majority of my adult life in the military in some way.
ReplyDeleteI love your blog and all the adventures you have. I always feared if we were stationed in Japan or Korea, I'd never have gone anywhere or done anything - mostly because I know nothing about the area! Everywhere else in the states and in Ramstein, Germany, I was a go-er and a do-er with the kids. My husband was a C-141 pilot and missed a lot.
We were stationed in Chandler, AZ (now closed); McGuire AFB, NJ; Scott AFB, Ill; Travis AFB, northern California; Ramstein; Norton AFB, (now closed) Redlands, CA; Kirtland AFB, New Mexico; Nellis AFB, Las Vegas.
I think you are the kind of woman who will love anywhere you go! Now the kids are grown (42, 40, 37, 33), they are amazed to find out that it was hard for me to like some of the places we lived. Our oldest daughter commissioned in the Army in 1999 out of BYU, and stayed in for 9+ years, so I must've done a good job fooling them. :) Some assignments were fabulous, others not so much. :)
Living overseas is a privilege-as much as you like it, it is difficult at times, and we come to know there's no place like the USA! No one lives as well and conveniently as Americans do.
Living in Provo and working at BYU is like living in the BX Food Court -- we eventually see everyone come through here! I had cadets that I had in Nursery, Primary, neighbors, etc. We like to call these important friends "the family we chose." Church does become your surrogate family, and I'll always be so grateful for our experiences.
I will try to be better about commenting. Know that we pray everyday for the military families serving around the world.
You are doing a great job with your kids! Keep up the good work, endure, and you will be blessed with grandchildren - they are our reward for not killing our kids when they were young, and make growing old wonderful.
Laura Leseberg laura_leseberg@byu.edu
Laura, thanks so much for your comments! It is so nice to hear from someone who is on the other end of this journey. We got a late start- Josh did not join until 10 years after his masters- so sometimes it feels like we may never reach the end. I loved hearing your perspective so much! We really enjoy being in a place where my father served his mission. He passed away from cancer when I was five so I have been so grateful for this little connection to him. And I am grateful for the military because I would never have been able to experience the Japanese culture in this way without it. We are awaiting a new assignment now and that is a new experience because we took this assignment voluntarily and did not have to wait. Patience for the unknown! I love this special time I have here with my kids. We are so far away from family in Utah but it has forced us to create so many of our own memories that will be unique to us. The distance definitely tugs at the heartstrings as I am sure you can understand. We moved into this military adventure from Springville, Utah, a place a loved. I felt pretty at home in Provo too! Springville is where my oldest calls home. Thanks again for your kind words and take care of all those sweet grandchildren!!
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