As we move further into our third year living in Tokyo, I am finding that while many aspects of life have become more comfortable, others are proving to be just as difficult as ever. For example, the pacing of the seasons has started to sink in and make sense. The first year I was completely confused as to why it wasn’t snowing by the end of November like it does in Minnesota. If it wasn’t going to snow, how would we have winter? Well, it snowed in Minnesota last night and I am pea green with envy. Most people think I’m crazy for being attached to the harsh cold that seems to hang around for over half the year in the land of 10,000 lakes, but it makes sense to me. To me, that is home.
Still, on days like today when I am able to soak in the beauty of autumn in Tokyo, I am reminded of how lucky I am to live in a place where brightly colored leaves decorate the parks. The weather is cool, yet mild, for the majority of the fall and winter. And we can walk down the street any time for a steaming hot bowl of ramen. Who could ask for more, right?
Well, no matter how beautiful the leaves (on the above photo the yellow gingko leaves are floating on the surface of a small pond) or how perfect the weather may seem, I will constantly and strongly miss my family and friends buried in snow, sipping hot chocolate together, scraping off their cars, and feeling the full effects of winter.
So today, I am using my Sunday afternoon to appreciate the beauty that surrounds me with my husband and Callie the dog. I am also putting my crock-pot to good use and making a delicious, slowly-simmered pork stew that reminds me of cold nights listening to the wind howl outside the windows and snow in drifts surrounding the house in Minnesota. It is true that you never realize how much you’ll miss something until its gone. Or until you have a prolonged absence from it.
This is how Callie feels about it all:
Thinking of all my fellow Minnesotans. Don’t grumble about the snow too much. It is beauty surrounding you.
