Starting the New Year Right

On the New Year's Day, we went to visit a temple in Redmond to Hatsumoude, to give prayers for a good year and fortune with the whole family.  It was a very cold morning with frosts covering the passing landscape like fuzzy blankets.  We decided to visit this particular temple since it was closer than the one we went last year and it does not sit right by a beautiful yet enticing swimming pool, a frigid river, Noah might want to jump in again.  As soon as we got out of the car, Noah wanted to touch everything at the temple.  So, we made the visit short and sweet.  We walked to the main building, prayed and left immediately.  The place was very small and awkward, it reminded me how far I am from my home country.  It was a beautiful drive anyhow and kids enjoyed listening to the new kids music CD grandma brought from Japan. 

As my friends and family make impressive resolutions for the New Year, I was left behind pondering every conscious minute what I ought to be doing this year.  I am going to be 41 and my youngest is going to be four.  It's time to get serious with things, I thought, but I didn't know for what and how.   One thing I know is that I have been consumed with the enormous list of chores and tasks I have to complete everyday to run our busy household.  Yet my frenzied daily schedule is not giving me the intellectual simulations I need to function properly.  You could picture me as a car with tires spinning furiously in mud not getting anywhere  I definitely need to find something to give me the grip I need to remind myself of who I am.  I have a couple of ideas which might work out, but I will share them later with you when they become more solid.  I am excited and can't wait to start working on them :-)