This is my mom, Akemi.  She is native of Japan.  In Japanese, you would call her kawaii which means ‘cute’.  I know I’ve had a pretty slow response time during this transition.  A lot has to do with taking care of my mom with Alzheimers.  Thanks for being patient with me as I navigate this adaptation.  My mom has been teaching me that sometimes slower is faster.  I’m moving slowly now, but I think I’m laying a pretty solid foundation for where the cheese is going to go long term.  Taking care of someone with Alzheimer’s is really profound in so many ways.  It forces you to be creative and see the world differently.  I’m surprised to learn that this is giving me an edge in adapting to the strange new world we are all waking up to.

Another important lesson I’ve learned is gardening.  I started a garden with my mom to help her stay active.  It turned into a much bigger project than I envisioned.  It also saved lots of money on grocery bills and time running to the store.  Now we just go out to the yard and pick stuff.  I had no idea at the time how well this would prepare me for the post pandemic world.  Sometimes slower is faster.  Sometimes going backwards is forwards.  There’s a lot of wisdom in the past.  I think part of the solution we are all looking for can be found there.