Although my siblings and I were all born and raised in Japan, the vast ocean that now separates us is not easily or frequently crossed. The older I get, the dearer they are to me, and I am eternally grateful for the internet, which makes sharing my life with them so much easier than it was for my parents who were similarly separated from their loved ones when they made the choice to leave their home country in their early 20s.Recently, one of my sisters bought her first house in the apple-y state of Washington (USA), within view of Mt.Adams. In the email that announced this huge decision, she wrote: My real estate agent who led me through the whole process brought two freshly picked apples to "toast" the closing. I was so charmed by the image these words evoked, that I decided to illustrate it as an etegami and send it to her for a housewarming gift. It is my way of sharing this happy/scary step in her life.
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Wpnderful story and the apples are deliciously beautiful.
ReplyDeleteCute story. Also, lovely article in The Japan Times today. http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/fl20111105a1.html
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful gift for your sister! Toasting with apples - this is a very beautiful way to celebrate.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful...the toasting with apples and the sending of an etegami as a gift.
ReplyDeleteWhat beautiful paintings and your sisters apple toasting is a perfect etegami image. How nice to have such a poetic connection with her on her with her new house!
ReplyDeleteHi Debbie, I fully understand how you feel, since my family members are in Malaysia and I am not. The apples are a lovely gesture - congrats to your sis, and best wishes too - and your pieces are lovely as usual. Evelyn.
ReplyDeleteAaaww! That gave me goose bumps about your sister's home closing. best of luck to her and may her new home be filled with happiness. Thank you for your visits and comments, Debbie. I am sorry I have not been by much, (although I read every post of yours. Hehehehe!). I love this illustration.
ReplyDeleteAh, the Internet! Yes, Good and bad. if we just focus on the good and be careful and prudent, it is worth its weight in gold in bringing us close to our loved ones from far away. Like you, I left my birth country. Internet, blogging, Facebook, text messaging, email all brings us close together. I was driving to work one day with my brother-in-law and the clouds were so beautiful. I snapped a photo with my camera, shared it with my brother in Manila and in a few minutes, he sends me a comment or reply. It's as if he just lived near and not 13,000 miles away.
Thank you again. I hope you have a very lovely week! Tsup!!!
What a delicate attention! Yes moving is scary... but family and friends are everything and internet helps with connecting with each other in such a nice way.
ReplyDeleteWhat an absolutely charming story, and an equally charming painting. You're so right - we're soooo lucky to live with technology that makes the distances seem so much smaller. I don't know how the generations before us did it!
ReplyDeleteGreat story. Love the illustration. I reposted in my blog and cited your site:
ReplyDeletehttp://zumbamer4ie.blogspot.com/2012/02/221-family-apple.html