The last weekend in Japan, I went to Akashi with my father, my sister and her husband.  Akashi is my father’s hometown where he was born and grown up.  I was born there, too.  We had visited Akashi several times every year when I was a kid, but not at all or hardly ever after my grandparents passed away.  Then, there was a big earthquake in Kobe area and the house in Akashi was half destroyed.  The house was rebuilt; I had some major life changes in Canada; my parents became older and frail; my mother passed away; …. and before you know, it was over 20 years since we were last there.  This time, it was my sister who came up with this idea, planned and organized the trip.  We got my father get ready, my sister and her husband drove, and I just sat in the car.  So many things happened in this trip and many things made me think… and I should slowly write them down little by little.  However, the main thing is that I felt such an immense gratitude about my extended family with whom we could instantly bond after so many years/decades of not seeing each other.  Hearing episodes from our childhood made me feel so grateful that I grew up being loved by so many people.  My 86 year old father looked so happy, became at least 10 years younger, seemed so much together, and told us about the time he came back home after the war.  His voice was shaking and I knew exactly how he felt.  Seeing my father being so happy made me so happy and I just couldn’t stop my tears.

日本滞在の最後の週末、父と妹夫婦とともに父の生まれ故郷の明石に行って来た。子供の頃には毎年何度も行った明石だけど、祖父母が亡くなってからは全くと言っていいくらいご無沙汰だった。その間に阪神大震災があり、昔からの家は半壊。私もカナダで離婚、再婚、転職など人生の転換期が相次ぎ、両親も年を取って遠出がおっくうになり、母が亡くなり。。。そうこうするうちに少なくとも二十年がたってしまった。今回の明石行きは妹が発案、企画、父を連れ出して、妹夫婦が運転して、私が便乗して実現した。いろんなことがあって色々思ったことがあってこれから少しずつ書いていこうと思うけど、まずは家族、親戚がいることの幸せを痛感した旅だった。子供の頃に会ったっきりでも、何十年も会ってなくても、再会すれば即、昔に戻ってわだかまりなく笑い合える。叔父や叔母や従兄弟達、こんなにたくさんの人たちに愛されて私たちは育ったんだな、と子供のころのエピソードを聞きながら感慨深く思った。８６歳の父がまるで１０歳も若返ったようにしっかりと話をして心の底から楽しそうで、時には戦争から帰って来た時の話をしながら感激のあまり涙声になったり、そんな父の様子を見ているだけでも嬉しくて涙が出た。