■

9/18

Almost 70 hours after leaving Boston, I received an Email from Scotland;

“Dear Mom,
Sorry I didnt call, I cant get the phone card to work, and I dont have
internet here yet, Im using someone elses computer for this message.
Everything is fine I'll send another message when I have internet.”

Even though my gut was telling me that my son was OK, it was a little unnerving not to hear from him for such a long time, particularly because we gave him a calling card with instructions to call us as soon as he gets there.

Well, this was probably the first time he said “sorry” outright to us.

The pre-op examination went very smoothly. When the nurse practitioner, who examined me, told that I had gone through a lot since the last surgery, I was shocked to realize that this summer was really a tough one.

It may sound strange, but I almost forgot all the pain, discomfort, and tears I went through, because I have been so delighted by my recovery and healing during the past two weeks.

One of the reasons why it did not hit me that this summer was hard, was due to the wonderful gifts we received from our friends, one of which was the twice-a-week dinner delivery. The delivery continued from day one of my chemotherapy, which was the last week of June, to the middle of September.

My friend, who herself went through foot surgery over the summer, coordinated who would bring the meal every week. Every dish was wonderful, and it was great to be able to talk to the friend who brought the meal (when I could do that.) I enjoyed every bit of conversation with my friend.

How could I have imagined this outpouring of kindness from friends and the community? Having been raised in Japan, where this sort of task falls on to the woman of the house as a duty, i.e., mother, daughters in law, sisters, or sisters in law, this was shocking, and made me realize that my family has been a member of the community for a long time.

It was a huge discovery to realize that the community is not a static object, but an active organism, and that you can be an active participant not only as a giver, but also as a recipient.