On May 24, twenty ladies got together for a sayonara lunch for Megan, Nicole, Kathleen, Marie, and me at House of Pacific in the Oriental Hotel. The food was terrific, but the company was better. The group not only bought our lunch, but gave us very thoughtful gifts: a sayonara kokeshi doll signed by the ladies, a picture book of Japanese memories, and a Tully's coffee travel mug. A few of us had to leave a bit early to make it back to CA for the Elementary School sayonara assembly. We made it without a minute to spare. Jessica sang "Mighty to Save" while her friend Chiho played piano. I am proud of her performance, but I am more proud of her courage and confidence. I am also extremely thankful that my 8 year old little girl sang about the power of God in front of her entire school.
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| Jessica and Chiho perform "Mighty to Save" |
Matthew was recognized for being part of Math Olympiad all year. Also, he received his 5th grade graduation certificate. Finally, both Jessica and Matthew were given sayonara books signed by their classmates and teachers. I so enjoyed reading these when they got home. It is powerful to read what the children's peers and teachers think about them.
On May 25, we spent the evening at Macsys with friends. May 26 was International Kids Day, and
Jessica sang with the CA 1st and 2nd graders. On May 27, we had a lovely final dinner out with McCormick's.
On June 1, we all enjoyed the Sayonara party at Macsys.
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| Megan and Tina |
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| Special ladies |
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| Sayonara to Nicole, Marie, Megan, Tina, Kathleen |
Matthew and Jessica both performed at the June 2 Piano recital.
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| Spring, Song, Little Flower Girl of Paris |
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| Lion March duet |
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| Wavin' Flag |
My June 3 birthday this year happened to be our last day in our apartment. It was quite sad! We did some cleaning and packing. We took some pictures and really tried to soak in the view. We met BT, Eiko, Kai, and Luka Toews at Rico's for dinner. Then, the adults sat on our balcony for a long time while the kids played Band Hero. Bob Novak joined us. It was a great way to spend the evening.
On June 4, the movers came. We moved into Sheraton. The Fitzpatricks were there all week, and the Mangs moved in on Wednesday. Breakfasts were fun as we had a combination of McDonalds, Starbucks, Tullys, and Family Mart all in the same morning!
June 5 was Jacob's 8th grade graduation party.
The kids and I surprised Phillip by attending a Procter and Gamble sayonara celebration where he was honored. It was touching to see what an impact Phillip has made on his organization.
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| We will miss sweet Sakamoto-san! |
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| What a thoughtful gift! |
Phillip flew to St. Louis on June 6. The sayonara at the bus was emotional. Nicole Brown and her boys were on the bus and flight with Phillip. Nicole was thankful since her husband Sean could not travel with them.
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| The group gathers to give one last sayonara bow as the bus leaves. |
On June 8, Jeanette helped me clean. I went to one last Tullys morning with the ladies. Then, I met the kids at CA and brought flowers to Ms. Vos. We said goodbye to all the teachers. Jacob was so proud of his leadership award.
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| Thank you Ms. Vos! |
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| We will miss you Mrs. Wilson! |
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| Jessica and Chiho |
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| Jessica and Matthew are proud of great grades! |
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| Jacob received great grades and 3 awards, but he was most proud of the leadership award. |
We did the check out with Entente staff. The kids hung out at River Mall in the rain. We brought flowers to front reception, and we all cried. Then, we had happy hour at Lisa Clapp's. Jacob, Dillon, and Brent came in after saying goodbye to Angel and Kendall. Their tears broke my heart. We had dinner at Rico's. Jacob stayed with Andy, Dillon, and Brent. Matthew stayed with Dylan.
On June 9, we said goodbye to the Fitzpatricks who had a taxi (because of their cat Maloney). This was the hardest one for me. I am really going miss Megan. She and I spent many hours together talking, walking, sharing coffee or wine... Many folks came to our sayonara bow for the 5:00pm bus. I am so going to miss our friends. As I have said before, we are all we have. We are family. Dylan and Matthew made me very sad. I had trouble saying goodbye to Sachi and Alex. I had to wonder if we would ever actually see them again. The hardest goodbye of this final round was the Wilson family. They have been great friends to our family. Pete has taught/coached/advised our boys pretty much from day 1. We loved talking college football with Pete, and Phillip enjoyed coaching with him. Jacob and Andy have shared many good times and many, many sleepovers. Jenny is a sweet soul, and the girls are adorable.
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| One last ride on the bus from the Sheraton to Kansai Airport |
We loaded the bus, waved goodbye, and continued to cry. Then, we opened the envelopes from Sachi. She had written a sweet note to each of us - the family, Jacob, Matthew, and Jessica. The tears started again. Oh how we will miss the wonderful friends that we did life with over the past two years in this amazing country.
Peace, Love, and Sayonara Japan!
Tina
