2008
This photo was taken at an event in Karuizawa on Oct.16'2008--a forested summer resort--where unbeknownst to me I would experience one of destiny's extraordinary interventions.
Not having the slightest clue that I would meet anyone special, an old friend introduced me to someone who would change my life--Fay.
I wasn't interested at first. Like I said my mind wasn't looking for anything; at best I was healing up some past wounds. But here was something I could not ignore, a chemistry with someone that grew strong without initiative or effort; one of those interesting times in life when something comes together as if it was meant to be--setting free-will and majesty of choice aside.
I forget who took this snap of us talking, but this was the very moment of us talking about Fay and the wonderful person she was; of this old friend trying to convince me to hit it off with her.
Fay had this resounding reputation about her cooking, but again I wasn't paying attention to the details. I was just a student at a 3 day seminar, and as you can see I didn't even graduate. I'm not holding a certificate. So why was I there? I don't know.
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2008'November -- 2009'March
The kind of energy two lovers have for each other is astounding. The lengths to which they would go to talk with other, to see each other, and be with each other, is tiring just to think about.
6 hours of web-cam chit-chat doing God-knows-what, was a record, claiming from 8p.m to 2a.m.
Here's another one of those moments captured by a bystander of when Fay and I were on the phone talking. We would talk for hours at times, countless times a day. And when we weren't talking we were phone-messaging.
This was me when I met Fay. I was a manager of our podunk international school. Made schedules, planned fundraisers, and took care of kids. Dressed and behaved like I would live the rest of my life in the countryside. I was prepared to do that. But then life changed.
After a 3 week Fay and Kenji visit to Tamba, and a two week visit on my end to Chiba, we got over the hump of meeting friends and family. We decided to move in together...
2009
This is the TINY room we stayed in. Fay and Kenji moved in on March 28' 2009. I can't believe we spent like half a year in there. It was a one-man room.
Another vivid portrayal of what true love can endure. ha.
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2010--Move to Osaka
The pics above look like postcards, but that was our backyard. We rented a house with another couple smack-dab in this beautiful touristic location--awesome sights, awesome sounds.
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2010--Move to Chiba, Noda
Still, the nice house with the roof for barbecues, modern kitchen, extra rooms in an expensive location was not enough. We wanted to be near family, friends, and loved ones--a richer scenario with a warmer sense of belonging that could not compare to nice things. So we moved again--hundreds of kilometers away--for a cozier life. This happened at the end of November of 2010.
We got to spend Christmas with our family with our new house and new life. And here we did find a sense of belonging.
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2012--Our Wedding
From the start, Fay had both feet on the gas pedal. I kept pushing the brakes, worried that we were going too fast. When to become official, when to move in together, when to be ready for unexpected pregnancy, when to get engaged, when to get married--she seemed to want it all to happen right away.
Nearly 4 years later from the day we met, we got married
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2012--Our Wedding
From the start, Fay had both feet on the gas pedal. I kept pushing the brakes, worried that we were going too fast. When to become official, when to move in together, when to be ready for unexpected pregnancy, when to get engaged, when to get married--she seemed to want it all to happen right away.
Nearly 4 years later from the day we met, we got married
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2013--Birth of baby Kazuma
Born on September 15th, at 4:14 on an early Sunday morning, weighing 3950g, measuring (if I remember correctly) 52cm, and just an absolutely perfect child (minus his slightly deformed pinkie-toe).
As strong as our personalities are, the birth of this little one has been taking a toll, slowly but surely, ha. I'm writing this 2 and half months later, and he is just the cutest thing on this planet earth. And it's funny how you don't really notice your tiredness until you look at photo's and see the bags under your eyes.
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2014--Move to Saitama, Misato
My wife is crazy. Her family is crazy. Her friends are crazy. And while I'm not crazy, my life's been crazy, and I've come to realize that crazy is good for me.
Crazy is not my personality, but I have the best of lives because I'm surrounded by crazy people. They make life exciting and spontaneous. They often see the best in you, give you the benefit of the doubt, and bend over backward to make your life easier.
I've never understood what makes people continue to do crazy things, but I've come to understand my wife. She simply enjoys doing things for other people and thrives on the knowledge that they appreciate her. She has a talent to spot a need and to do the helpful thing, even to her own hurt.
We moved into our new house on August 1st, 2014.
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2016--Honeymoon
(2016, December 26 ~ 2017 January 4)
In 2012, a few months after our wedding, I had saved up enough money to take my new wife on a honeymoon. I got our passports, and I even planned to quit my job and book our tickets to lala land. Meanwhile, though, my wife really wanted a baby. She insisted that something was wrong, that for months we tried but couldn't. She persuaded me to give it an earnest attempt; because if she couldn't get pregnant, we should both go get checked.
She got pregnant, and my glamorous honeymoon plans went into the gutter. The next window of opportunity, as far as I saw it, was when little Zuma turned 3--old enough to be with one of our parents while we were away.
That's exactly what happened. 4 years later we spent 8 days in Bali.
Pessimistic family members told us we wouldn't. Practicality said we couldn't. And all the perfect parents said we shouldn't. But we did anyway.
2 days before our flight, my mother-in-law broke her ankle, but plan B broke the fall. We drove through the night hundreds of kilometers away to my parents house, and took the bullet train back to make our flight the following morning.
