Monday, October 19, 2009
Grandpa in Japan
As of this writing, my father is already on his way back to New York. He only got here last Tuesday so it was a short visit but a very important one. This was, after all, his first chance to see Go in person.
We didn't "do" much in a travel sort of way. Dad stayed in a hotel in Osaka and rode the train out to our apartment each day to see us. On most days, he simply stayed here until he got tired and then returned to the hotel. He always came up in the afternoon so my inability to get off work wasn't an issue. He offered to take us to dinner but we instead ended up eating at home.
I guess I shouldn't have been surprised but my dad really, really adored Go in a way that I never would have expected. He was delighted by Go's every move and found no frustration in Go's occasional fits of crying. He also had an incredible knack for putting a smile on Go's face and making him laugh so hard he got hiccups.
We all forget that our parents were there when we were just babies, making us smile and putting up with our tears. I had never seen my father with a baby before, so even though logic dictated that he had seen his share of tiny humans I assumed that he had forgotten what it was like as my sister and I are both full-grown adults now. Instead, he flourished and he and Go were very happy together.
Two things jump to my mind as cute moments from his visit. The first was on Friday night when we ordered pizza. My father and I both had root beer, specifically Dad's Root Beer. It's just a name, I know, but it carried an extra bit of meaning that night to be sharing such a drink with my father while we both looked at my son.
The second was our good fortune to be able to watch two Yankees games together over the weekend. He wasn't here for the start of either game (8 PM EST = 9AM JST) but he made in time for most of the late-inning drama. Having three generations of Feits sit on a couch and watch a baseball game had a magical quality to it, even though there's no way of knowing if Go will share our interest in the Yankees or the game of baseball for that matter.
We did meet up with Mako's parents over the weekend and get outside for a while. On Saturday we went to their home (a first for my dad) and went shopping at the nearby mall where we got some Cold Stone ice cream (another first for my dad). They've stepped up their game, by the way: now when the servers start singing, they flicker the lights on and off. Epileptics beware!
Sunday we took a surprisingly long drive two cities over to Mino-o (Minoh?) and spent a couple hours at Katsuoji. It's a very beautiful temple in the mountains that I'm sure will look even better in a couple weeks when the leaves change. Since my dad was leaving during the day today while I was at work, we had to have our goodbyes outside of a random train station in Minooooo which was a little awkward. At least we all know I'm coming to New York in December so it was more of a "see you later" than a "see you when I see you" goodbye.
I'll try to get some pics up for everyone to see. Until then, check out these two photos I snapped with my camera:
つづく...(Click here to read more)
We didn't "do" much in a travel sort of way. Dad stayed in a hotel in Osaka and rode the train out to our apartment each day to see us. On most days, he simply stayed here until he got tired and then returned to the hotel. He always came up in the afternoon so my inability to get off work wasn't an issue. He offered to take us to dinner but we instead ended up eating at home.
I guess I shouldn't have been surprised but my dad really, really adored Go in a way that I never would have expected. He was delighted by Go's every move and found no frustration in Go's occasional fits of crying. He also had an incredible knack for putting a smile on Go's face and making him laugh so hard he got hiccups.
We all forget that our parents were there when we were just babies, making us smile and putting up with our tears. I had never seen my father with a baby before, so even though logic dictated that he had seen his share of tiny humans I assumed that he had forgotten what it was like as my sister and I are both full-grown adults now. Instead, he flourished and he and Go were very happy together.
Two things jump to my mind as cute moments from his visit. The first was on Friday night when we ordered pizza. My father and I both had root beer, specifically Dad's Root Beer. It's just a name, I know, but it carried an extra bit of meaning that night to be sharing such a drink with my father while we both looked at my son.
The second was our good fortune to be able to watch two Yankees games together over the weekend. He wasn't here for the start of either game (8 PM EST = 9AM JST) but he made in time for most of the late-inning drama. Having three generations of Feits sit on a couch and watch a baseball game had a magical quality to it, even though there's no way of knowing if Go will share our interest in the Yankees or the game of baseball for that matter.
We did meet up with Mako's parents over the weekend and get outside for a while. On Saturday we went to their home (a first for my dad) and went shopping at the nearby mall where we got some Cold Stone ice cream (another first for my dad). They've stepped up their game, by the way: now when the servers start singing, they flicker the lights on and off. Epileptics beware!
Sunday we took a surprisingly long drive two cities over to Mino-o (Minoh?) and spent a couple hours at Katsuoji. It's a very beautiful temple in the mountains that I'm sure will look even better in a couple weeks when the leaves change. Since my dad was leaving during the day today while I was at work, we had to have our goodbyes outside of a random train station in Minooooo which was a little awkward. At least we all know I'm coming to New York in December so it was more of a "see you later" than a "see you when I see you" goodbye.
I'll try to get some pics up for everyone to see. Until then, check out these two photos I snapped with my camera:
Labels: baseball, family, Japan, number one son, temple, Yankees
つづく...(Click here to read more)
