A Mother's Day reflection...

[Entry from journal - 10.May.09]

Today, we had a special Mother's Day service in honor of Mother's Day, a fairly typical gesture among churches, but still appreciated nonetheless. The message itself was good (again, fairly typical for Mother's Day), but there was something he said towards the end that really caught my attention.

For his sermon, the pastor referenced Proverbs 31, a passage which lauds the virtues of a godly woman. In particular, he focused on v. 28~30 which speak of how the husband and children of a virtuous woman (should) praise her, and how doing so is as much an act of love as (if not more so than) any gift that could be bought.

Towards the end of the sermon, he mentioned childbirth, and though there is great pain involved, once the child is born, that pain is quickly forgotten and is replaced, instead, with love.

Childbirth. Such a common thing, and yet we (most of us) still treat each as something precious and beautiful. But have you ever really stopped to think about just how incredible it was that God bestowed upon us such a gift as childbirth? Ladies, I realize the actual act of carrying a child to term, and then subsequently birthing it, is anything but pleasant. But how awesome is it that God should bless you with such a life-generating and life-sustaining gift, a gift that is 2nd only to His own. Man cannot boast such a power by his own natural means, and all the science in the world can faithfully reproduce what the female body has been doing since the first humans walked the earth.

So what does this say about motherhood? If child-birthing is one of the greatest blessings that could be passed down to (wo)man, then I believe motherhood to be the proof of membership into one of the highest callings a woman could hold. And when I say "motherhood", I'm not limiting the title to only those women who have given birth naturally, nor even to those who have chosen to adopt. There are many ladies who, for honorable and selfless reasons, cannot devote themselves to caring for a child or children in the typical parental sense, but who can still impact the life or lives of children in such a way that only a woman can.

So for those of you mothers who have answered such a wonderful calling, to you do we owe a great debt of gratitude! We quiet literally wouldn't be here without you ;) And I believe the appreciation and gratitude typically shown during Mother's Day should not be limited to only one day, but should be observed and renewed on a daily basis.

Of this, I am the most guilty. So let me begin my repentance now by sending my mother a public, trans-Atlantic Mother's Day wish:

I love you, Mom. I'm so grateful that God made you my mother :)

神様、ぼくのおかあさんにどうもありがとうございます！

Tanjyoubi Omede-TOU

"Tanjyoubi Omedetou" (pronounced: "tan-jee-oh-bee o-meh-deh-toe") is now a very familiar phrase in my ears. In English, it means "Happy Birthday" (translated literally: "birthday congratulations"). At the school I primarily teach at (Minori Gaoka), it seems every week (usually on Fridays) they celebrate the birthdays of any of the students for that week. The way they do it, however, is a mixture of familiar and unfamiliar.

For starters, they line the students up just outside of the lunchroom (as if for a typical lunch day). At the front of the line is the teacher (who is smelling hands to make sure they're clean, that day) and the student or students whose birthdays are being celebrated. The other students, in single file, stop at each birthday boy/girl and say, "Otanjyoubi Omedetou!" or "Happy Birthday!", to which the birthday boy or girl responds "Arigatou!" ("Thank you!"). Once the student has wished each birthday person a "Happy Birthday", the teacher sniffs their hands to make sure they washed up, and the student enters the lunchroom.

As they enter, tables are already set up, as well as little plates, drinks, and whatever the snack is for that particular day. The birthday boys/girls sit together at one table. I'm not certain, but I think the other students who sit at the table with them are, perhaps, friends that they've chosen to have sit with them ("seats of honor", if you will). Consequently, the Eigo no sensei (English teacher, i.e. "me") also gets to sit with the birthday persons :D While all of this is going on, one of the teachers is playing some form of birthday music on the piano located in the lunchroom.

Once all the students have entered (the birthday children being last), everyone stands up, slides their chairs in, and they begin singing what I can only figure is their version of a "birthday song"; obviously it's all in Japanese, and my comprehension is still pretty poor, so I have no real idea what they're saying...I just smile & stand there while they sing lol After singing, all the children wish the birthday kid(s) "Happy Birthday" again, and they sit down & eat their snack, which is usually some sort of cake/yogurt/cookie, some fruit, and a drink (milk or juice). When their finished, they take their chairs back & stack them up neatly (only 5 per stack!), put their dishes in the dirty dishes bin, and flatten their milk/juice boxes & toss them in a specific trashcan.

While we're on the topic of birthdays, my birthday is coming up shortly (May 5th), and quite unexpectedly I received a nice little birthday surprise the other night. While my roommate & I had some company over (friends from his former church) to eat snacks and play games, towards the end of the night one of the gals disappeared into the kitchen. A few moments later, she walked out with two beautifully-decorated little cakes, each with 3 lit candles sticking out of them; one of the cakes was for me, the other for another guy there whose birthday was ACTUALLY on that day (May 1st). They sang "Happy Birthday" to us (in English, lol) and then had us make a wish & blow out the candles. Shuhei (the other birthday boy), accidentally blew out my candles as well as his lol Recording everything on his camera, Kohei then asked each of us what our plans were for this year; for Shuhei, it was to "make a baby" with his lovely wife, and for me, it was to learn Japanese & become more fluent. Kohei also asked me if I hoped to "make a girlfriend", to which I replied I don't know if I have quite the talent to "make" a girlfriend, but if I could find one already pre-made, that would be a plus ;) In addition to the cakes, they also bought each of us gifts; Shuhei received a really nice shirt, and I got this backpack! I've been using a messenger bag which one of the former teachers had left behind, and probably will continue to use it...but this backpack is nice, it has 2 water bottle holders AND a special sleeve where you can slip in a laptop (up to 17" screen size). Sugoi!!

God has been so good to me! For the third year in a row, I've celebrated my birthday in Japan (although, technically, it's not quite my birthday yet), and for the third year in a row, I've received some manner of surprise for my birthday. Coincidence??? Something about Japan & my birthday, they just seem to go well together lol ^_^

I can hardly wait to spend yet another birthday in Japan and see what surprises happen next! :D