Unexpected Kindnesses

Well, it seems that both HH The Dalai Lama and Barrack Obama will be in Japan while Mum and I are there. This is possibly auspicious but at the very least will mean that some of the places we visit will be nicely tidied up as tends to happen before dignitaries visit.

It is the day before we leave and I am quite excited. Mum and I have been communicating about what gifts to take for, among other things, 'unexpected kindnesses', a phrase pinched from a Japanese man who stayed with us at Witako Street many years ago (I should probably know who he is and why he was with us but I simply have no recollection). For me, this whole trip to Japan is an unexpected kindness. In the last decade or two I have traveled overseas infrequently and my trips have been anticipated well in advance and have had a definite purpose. They have also been fully planned and largely I have been content to be in the hands of others. This trip is quite different.

It was not anticipated - not even thought of by me until a few weeks ago. It has no purpose other than the trip itself. We are going simply to be there and to be there together. And it is planned only in part, with arrival and departure dates, a rail pass and accommodation at the beginning and end. This suits me fine but I have noticed that, contrary to the usual expectation of the roles that accompany age, I have been seeking more certainty while Rosemary has been content to see what happens. However, in the last 48 hours I have got over myself and am looking forward to many unexpected kindnesses of all types.