Hurry Home - June 27

11:15 PM.  The bags are packed and Julia is tucked into bed.  Tomorrow there are just a few last-minute loose ends to tie up before our adventure begins.  I'm beginning to exhale!  It's taken a long, hard push to pull this trip together and get everything set up.  But the doggy has been boarded, kitty and plant care have been arranged, tickets have been purchased, hotels have been booked, subs have been found for work, house renovations completed (well, paused), etc., etc.

As the activity ebbs and my mind quiets down, my thoughts turn to a conversation I had a couple of days ago with Sachiko-san.  She was a woman who worked for my parents when I was a child and basically ensconced herself into our hearts and our family.  She called and we talked to each other for the first time in many years.  We firmed up our plans to see each other, she asked me what she should cook for us (inari-zushi, of course), and just before we got off the phone she said something that touched me so deeply.  "Hayaku kaittekite, ne?"  Hurry home, okay?