We went to Japan for two weeks. During those two weeks, I grew. Literally. Physically. I GREW like my body just realized it was pregnant. I grew out of three things I brought to wear. I was getting ready to go out to a concert one night, I looked in the mirror and when I turned to leave, I caught my profile and gasped. There is no mistake now that I am PREGNANT. Very, very odd. By the time I get used to the idea, it’ll be over so I’m trying to take it in. But I can’t help feel a bit freaked out that things I could do last week are a challenge now. Like, I can’t bend over to get things down low. Japanese sinks are lower than the States and I had to stand in second position and do a grand plie to brush my teeth. And let me tell ya, the traditional Japanese toilets—the kind you have to squat to use- are no laughing matter. I can get down there, but can’t get back up without serious grunting. Speaking of laughing matters, that’s another thing. I can’t sneeze or laugh without crossing my legs. Philip made me laugh so hard the other night (and it didn’t help that I was delirious from jet lag) that I had to spit out the juice I was drinking, then run to the bathroom.
A couple of days after we got to Tokyo, I was talking to my sister-in-law, now a mother of three, telling her that I feel my skin stretching to accommodate the sudden growth and she said that I will soon see a line down the middle of my body from it. The very next morning, there it was. My seam was showing. I have a line down the middle like a stuffed animal. Then about four days into our trip, I noticed that my legs were getting really stiff after sitting for too long. I looked down and realized that I no longer had ankle bones. There were straight lines from my calves to my feet. Then my belly button started to feel sore. Well, it should be sore because it’s trying to turn itself inside out. It felt like this:
Anyway, there is a slang in Japanese for when a person is alarmed or defeated that their “eyes became dots.” Meaning, like in a Japanese cartoon their eyes simply become two small dots, indicating that they no longer know what’s what. That was me at those moments. I felt possessed. I no longer knew what was happening or would happen next. I felt out of control. Like Violet from Charlie and The Chocolate Factory when she turned into a giant blueberry. I was waiting for the Umpa Lumpas to come out and sing a song about me or roll me out of the room. I’m so sexy right now, I can’t handle myself.
Despite these phenomena, we thoroughly enjoyed our visit. I schlepped my sausage legs hither and yon, and really took in the last vacation with just the two of us. When we were in Shibuya (a very hip section of Tokyo that has the most insane cross walk ever - it’s fairly well known now after being featured in the movie Lost in Translation) we went into a café to, you guessed it, rest my feet. The waiter asked if I needed an ashtray. I said no thank you and sat down. This wasn’t some trashy joint that people would smoke while pregnant. However, this was a joint that only single twenty-somethings were hanging out in, smoking. I guess he just didn’t see my growth. Maybe I should have been flattered? We had our $6 coffee/tea and $8 cake (boy it was good) but had to get out of there due to smokeyosity of the place. We laugh at our commitment to go to a section of town clearly too young and way over-crowded for us because dammit we are in Japan and we’re gonna do some hip things!!!
There were some very Zen moments as well. We visited the town of Nikko, just outside of Tokyo where my father’s family has spent every New Year’s for generations at the very first western style hotel in Japan (The Kanaya Hotel). A place where my brother and I used to ice skate for 8 hours a day with friends we only saw there once a year. It was nice to be there again. Across the street from the hotel is the Toshogu Shrine, now a world historic sight.
It is a tradition in Japan to visit temples and shrines on the first day of the New Year to pray for a good year. So we did. I purchased a charm that is for “safe delivery of the baby.” It has a long string on it so I told Philip that he was to wear it around his neck in the delivery room and I will pull on it as I push. I push, he chokes, we will both be in pain, it’ll be a beautiful thing. I love Buddhism.
My oldest friend, Kayoko - she is not old, I’ve just known her since we were infants - gave me a small crystal dog statue telling me that dogs symbolize easy labor because they practically crank babies out in their sleep. This was news to me. I might need to take Trixie to the hospital if that is true. This is me and Kayoko:
I also learned from my other friends who have kids that Japanese OBs are really strict and mean about weight gain during pregnancy. They don’t want you to gain more than 20 pounds and if you gain too much too quickly, you get a lecture and a warning stamp in your little notebook you are supposed to carry around. My sister-in-law started lying about her weight (they used to have to step on the scale alone and record the weight) just to avoid her doctor yelling at her but later they changed the system so that you couldn’t cheat anymore. Yikes. So everyone was glad to hear that American OBs weren’t that crazy. So am I, as I hit this growth spurt. My first growth spurt of any kind since I was 12.
We had many blessings from family and friends during our visit. It’s been over a year since we took a long vacation and we didn’t realize how much we needed it after last year’s crazy medical adventure. It was good to get in touch with my roots-a culture this kid will hopefully take interest in getting to know-good to see old friends who I don’t have to explain things to, and spend time with family. This was Philip’s sixth trip to Japan so he was also very relaxed and felt at home. That is a blessing for me too.
We feel recharged and ready to face the next three months…well and the huge change that is to happen after those three months. Here’s one last image from our trip to end this post. Please observe my commitment to not catch a cold during my vacation. My mother said, “Don’t go anywhere crowded.” What?? How are you supposed to do that in Tokyo? I guess you have to find a way around it. This is how it’s done in Japan. Enjoy.
A couple of days after we got to Tokyo, I was talking to my sister-in-law, now a mother of three, telling her that I feel my skin stretching to accommodate the sudden growth and she said that I will soon see a line down the middle of my body from it. The very next morning, there it was. My seam was showing. I have a line down the middle like a stuffed animal. Then about four days into our trip, I noticed that my legs were getting really stiff after sitting for too long. I looked down and realized that I no longer had ankle bones. There were straight lines from my calves to my feet. Then my belly button started to feel sore. Well, it should be sore because it’s trying to turn itself inside out. It felt like this:
Anyway, there is a slang in Japanese for when a person is alarmed or defeated that their “eyes became dots.” Meaning, like in a Japanese cartoon their eyes simply become two small dots, indicating that they no longer know what’s what. That was me at those moments. I felt possessed. I no longer knew what was happening or would happen next. I felt out of control. Like Violet from Charlie and The Chocolate Factory when she turned into a giant blueberry. I was waiting for the Umpa Lumpas to come out and sing a song about me or roll me out of the room. I’m so sexy right now, I can’t handle myself.
Despite these phenomena, we thoroughly enjoyed our visit. I schlepped my sausage legs hither and yon, and really took in the last vacation with just the two of us. When we were in Shibuya (a very hip section of Tokyo that has the most insane cross walk ever - it’s fairly well known now after being featured in the movie Lost in Translation) we went into a café to, you guessed it, rest my feet. The waiter asked if I needed an ashtray. I said no thank you and sat down. This wasn’t some trashy joint that people would smoke while pregnant. However, this was a joint that only single twenty-somethings were hanging out in, smoking. I guess he just didn’t see my growth. Maybe I should have been flattered? We had our $6 coffee/tea and $8 cake (boy it was good) but had to get out of there due to smokeyosity of the place. We laugh at our commitment to go to a section of town clearly too young and way over-crowded for us because dammit we are in Japan and we’re gonna do some hip things!!!
There were some very Zen moments as well. We visited the town of Nikko, just outside of Tokyo where my father’s family has spent every New Year’s for generations at the very first western style hotel in Japan (The Kanaya Hotel). A place where my brother and I used to ice skate for 8 hours a day with friends we only saw there once a year. It was nice to be there again. Across the street from the hotel is the Toshogu Shrine, now a world historic sight.
It is a tradition in Japan to visit temples and shrines on the first day of the New Year to pray for a good year. So we did. I purchased a charm that is for “safe delivery of the baby.” It has a long string on it so I told Philip that he was to wear it around his neck in the delivery room and I will pull on it as I push. I push, he chokes, we will both be in pain, it’ll be a beautiful thing. I love Buddhism.
My oldest friend, Kayoko - she is not old, I’ve just known her since we were infants - gave me a small crystal dog statue telling me that dogs symbolize easy labor because they practically crank babies out in their sleep. This was news to me. I might need to take Trixie to the hospital if that is true. This is me and Kayoko:
I also learned from my other friends who have kids that Japanese OBs are really strict and mean about weight gain during pregnancy. They don’t want you to gain more than 20 pounds and if you gain too much too quickly, you get a lecture and a warning stamp in your little notebook you are supposed to carry around. My sister-in-law started lying about her weight (they used to have to step on the scale alone and record the weight) just to avoid her doctor yelling at her but later they changed the system so that you couldn’t cheat anymore. Yikes. So everyone was glad to hear that American OBs weren’t that crazy. So am I, as I hit this growth spurt. My first growth spurt of any kind since I was 12.
We had many blessings from family and friends during our visit. It’s been over a year since we took a long vacation and we didn’t realize how much we needed it after last year’s crazy medical adventure. It was good to get in touch with my roots-a culture this kid will hopefully take interest in getting to know-good to see old friends who I don’t have to explain things to, and spend time with family. This was Philip’s sixth trip to Japan so he was also very relaxed and felt at home. That is a blessing for me too.
We feel recharged and ready to face the next three months…well and the huge change that is to happen after those three months. Here’s one last image from our trip to end this post. Please observe my commitment to not catch a cold during my vacation. My mother said, “Don’t go anywhere crowded.” What?? How are you supposed to do that in Tokyo? I guess you have to find a way around it. This is how it’s done in Japan. Enjoy.
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