August

 I know there's one more day, but I'm going to Hannah's tomorrow and won't have a chance to post.

August is tough for me; it is the hottest month. We usually have a break for holidays, but I never really did anything during that time. This year, however, turned out to be different and somehow better.

The heat and humidity were the same, relentless. I managed to survive without an air conditioner in the kitchen/dining room. One thing that helped was that the humidity was significantly lower than usual, until this past week. Most years, as the temperature got higher, so did the humidity. Having temperatures of 35 °C plus and humidity of 80% was normal. This year, however, humidity stayed below 60%. That really helped. This past week it has been higher, but I can deal with a week or so, not a few months!

I enjoyed staying at Hannah's for a few days, and having Hannah here for a week was nice. I proved to myself that I'm not as helpless as I thought. At Hannah's, we went out almost every day to eat and shop a bit. Also, when Hannah came here, we could get on the bus and go shopping, something I never thought I would do in August!

The other highlight was David's birthday! As I said, birthdays are now a time of reflection and wondering how did I get here?  I'm having a hard time wrapping my head around the fact that two of my kids are now in their 30s!

I think I pushed myself to do things this August instead of just hanging around the house moaning! I realize that the summers aren't going to get any better, so I should adapt to the heat and humidity and live my life as best as possible. Spending almost half the year just complaining isn't going to help me in the long run; making an effort and doing things will help.

I have a couple of things to look forward to in September. On the 20th, Hannah and I are going to see the Les Misérables World Tour Concert, in English. I'm beyond excited! On the 26th, I'm going for a day trip to Hita with Hannah. There are also a couple of places I want to visit near here that I can get to on the bus. I'm hoping the weather will cool down so I can do that!

Just a couple of photos from August!

Hannah's new desk

Sushi for David's birthday

Fluffy with her collar to stop her over-grooming

I found this photo of Hisao the other day. I think this was from when he was in junior high school.