The move and the changes it will bring are sinking in for RJ. Today, we dropped off our itinerary to the housing office so we could set up our final inspection and so housing can plan for the next family's arrival. I explained to RJ why we were there and what was going to happen in three weeks--check into the Navy Lodge in Yoko for two nights, fly, check into the Lodge in San Diego, then move into our house when our goods arrive. RJ must have been thinking about it all day, as when he was attempting to go to sleep, he kept saying, "I'm going to miss my house. I won't like the new house." After assurances that the new house would soon feel like home because Mom, Dad, Ryleigh, RJ, and all of our stuff will be back together again under one roof, he calmed own and fell asleep.
I'm glad he is developing some understanding of the move before we go. But, I'm not looking forward to when it truly sinks in that he won't see his friends again or for a long time--it won't be as easy to reassure him that everything is going to be fine.
"I'm Going to Miss My House"
Turning over
I've been "in the seat" for about 7 months as the Department Head, and you'd think that I wouldn't have much to turn over to him, but it's quite the contrary. I've been surprised how many things that I have jotted down in a turnover log. They all are important things for him to know, even though some seem pretty mundane. Things like what emails to expect, timekeeping, projects that I've started and won't finish, programs and policies that I've put into place, and instructions that need reviewing are a few of the things on my turnover log. I started the log about a month ago and every day, I think of a few more things that we need to discuss before I leave. I have a feeling that I'll be on the airplane to San Diego and still thinking of things that I should tell my relief.
He's in the area orientation brief (AOB) this week so we won't get much turnover time until next week. That gives us about two weeks to turnover the reins of a 320+ person department. Also during that time, I have to run around the base and get all my check out signatures. At first, I thought two weeks was a long time, but lately, I've been wondering if it's going to be long enough. It's easy to get excited about the next job and the next place to live and forget about continuing to do a good job and to be focused and energetic until the last day. I have a lot to do and not a lot of time to get it done. Wish me luck!
-Jip
Bit of Biking
It was sprinkling after the naps today, but we still tried to get outside for a bit. Jip and RJ left first and headed to the elementary school on their bikes. But, as Ryleigh and I headed that way, the boys were on their way back--it was too wet. Ryleigh hitched a ride with Jip for the few feet back to the house.
Then, the rain subsided a bit. So, we took that opportunity to raise RJ's training wheels to the highest position--he's so close to taking it to two wheels. Ryleigh helped the boys.
RJ sported Jip's riding glasses to give us all a laugh.
Then, RJ took off on his bike again. He leans out of the turn instead of into the turn, so the training wheels are still getting used. But, with a bit more practice, he'll have it down.
While RJ was riding, Ryleigh "fixed" Jip's bike.
It started raining hard after RJ did a few laps around the cul-de-sac. Maybe we can tackle the bike again tomorrow. It was fun while it lasted, though!
Racking Up the "Lasts"
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| The new Kid-O-Kid |
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| Yay for the bouncy running track! |
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| Ryleigh was trying to tell us something, but we never figured out exactly what it was she was so excited about. |
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| The ol' standby--the train table. |
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| Ryleigh was very encouraging to RJ. |
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| "Ball, Mommy!" |
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| That's quite the look RJ gave Jip. I'm not sure what it was about. I am sure I don't want to know, though. |
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| Sweet, happy girl. |
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| Ahhhh. Sweet brotherly-sisterly love, aka fighting over the bucket. |
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| We had a ball with the costumes. RJ was a knight for about 30 seconds. |
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| This was Ryleigh's favorite costume. She wore it for a couple minutes. |
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| The Japanese version of the American Indian. I think they've seen one too many spaghetti westerns. |
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| Ryleigh did not like being an astronaut. |
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| The area for the bigger kids was supposed to be 6 and up. I figured since RJ's 4 is as tall if not taller than the average Japanese 6, he could get away with playing on the big kid stuff. |
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| This is a neat idea. A room full of pegs, plastic tubing, and balls to set up ball runs. RJ enjoyed this area a lot! |
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| The ball run RJ and I put together. It wasn't elaborate, but it got the job done. |
It was a fun morning at Kid-O-Kid. The new location has made it super popular for lots more people. By noon, there was a line of families out the door, waiting for people to leave so that they could enter. I'm so glad we made it early.
The only problem with leaving a place like that around lunch is that there is no where to grab a "quick" sit-down lunch. We tried a pancake place, but the line was too long. So, we went to KFC in a food court under the mall. The food was fine. The seating wasn't. I will NOT miss the food court concept in Japan. So many food courts in malls, train stations, etc. don't have seating. I realize most people probably carry their food to their office, home, or whatever. But, what about those of us who do want to have lunch, especially those of us with kids? KFC did have a little galley seating area that had tables for one or 2 people, but nothing for 4 gaijin and I swear that every place we've been in this country, people linger as soon as they see us looking for a place to sit. So, we decided to eat off of 3 little end tables (when I say little, I mean the tops were about 8" x 8") while sitting at a couch-type booth right by the KFC cashier. I really don't know if that area was for waiting for food or for eating, but we made it for eating.
We enjoyed a nice drive home while the kids slept. Overall it was a good "last" to knock off the list.
Three More Fridays
It was a fine Friday. RJ had preschool. Ryleigh and I went grocery shopping. The kids had good naps. Our friends Janine and Cian came over. Jip had a good drill and a productive day at work. We had a yummy dinner of lasagna soup (it's like chili, but Italian seasonings instead of cumin and chili powder).
But, the thought was always in the back of our minds. Four weeks from today, we'll be in San Diego. We'll have cell phones with US numbers. We'll be walking though our house and exploring our neighborhood. And, maybe we'll be signing paperwork for our new vehicle. Can you tell we are excited? Only three more Fridays in Japan...
