christmas

merry christmas, whoever you are.  i wish you well: peace, health, happiness, love.

***

we had a nice christmas this year.  i spent some of christmas eve working at my parents' house, deconstructing a bed, cleaning out both of my nieces' rooms, and putting up a god-awful fuchsia curtain.  for the evening, we went out with my wife's friend's family to eat dinner at an izakaya place called gazen.  i thought it was great, and enjoyed most everything offered, from the mochi-cheese wraps to the oxtail to the freshly made tofus.  lynn was a bit more critical, saying that the consistency of the tofus was a bit too watery for her tastes.  the kids ate up.  after gazen, we stopped by a friend's place to drop off presents (during which time, willow's fancy shoes separated at the sole), and got pulled a bit into some of the domestic drama there.  we left, not entirely ameliorating things, but hopefully offering a bit of perspective to the issues, and joined my wife's friend's family again over at the honolulu city lights.  it's kind of a tradition for our family to view the christmas lights on christmas eve.

late that night (or early this morning), "santa" came and set up all the stocking presents.  thankfully, not another creature was stirring...

then, the kids woke up at a god-awful 5:00, and i reluctantly dragged myself out of bed to feign "excitement" and "wonder" as presents were opened.  don't get me wrong, i'm not a scrooge...  but it was a terribly late night for me.

we went over to the oceans restaurant over at the outrigger, and had perhaps the most pleasant breakfast brunch we've ever had, with aunty joan and uncle ferman, gazing out over an overcast and slightly chilly beach...  the rest of the day after that was pretty nondescript, with frequent naps, held beneath the din of the kids' videogames and tv shows...

***

there is a poem by yeats that has the line, "the centre cannot hold."  i thought about it tonight.

there are issues in my family that require attention.  my mother calls me regularly now, requesting this or that kind of assistance, but in general, wanting me to be more involved.  she is particularly worried for my father.  while i have been going to their house to treat him now and then, and while the shingles pain has been reduced to a feeling of mild persistent itching, it seems that my father still exhibits symptoms which worry my mother: a general fatigue, and irritability, as well as an instability when walking.

my mother wants me to take my father out.

let me tell you something about my father.  he is a very active, helpful person, but he is not sociable, and delivers most of his commentary in opaque japanese.  ...  more later (i'm feeling tired)