Day 12 & 13

Day 12 & 13 : Full of FUN

My boys, my sister and I went to Tokyo Disneyland. I had decided to fill these two day with just pure fun and make it a totally memorable experience for all of us. My sister worked for Disneyland for over 15 years and I used to work there part-time. Although there were many change in their system, two of us could make a great team in coordinating this little tour.

We made reservation for a lunch show at a restaurant, and we planned to make a reservation for dinner as soon as we got there. We had asked the kids which rides they wanted to go to, and based on the popularity, we had some idea on which ones we should try to get Fast Pass for and which ones we should just wait in line. I decided to let my boys eat whatever they wanted. It's all about choice.

The weather was not the nicest. It rained almost the whole day, and the park was yet full of people. My sister bought each of us a rain poncho but wearing it made us sweat inside, so we would have gotten wet either way.

We played so hard. My oldest had the goal to hit all three "mountains" (roller-coaster rides) and we sure did. My youngest was tall enough for all the rides so he was super excited. The younger two loved roller-coasters, much like their dad. We enjoyed all the other rides, the kids loved all the food they had there, from the waffles to the sherbet, to the popcorn, to the churro. Food was nothing By Design, though. The Kingdom of Dream and Magic is built on wheat and sugar. We stayed in the park from 9:00 am to 10:00 pm. Totally exhausted, we headed to the hotel. We had a quick bath, and we were out like a light.

Next morning we all slept in, had a brunch, and played in the hotel pool. Spent an hour or so there, played more at the arcade and the kids playground. We left the hotel around 4:00 pm, were able to avoid the rush hour on the train. Dinner today was KFC. Tomorrow we will be back on track.

Tomorrow I will probably go to Chikara CrossFit for training, and go see my dad.

Day 11

Day 11: Handsome boys and sweaty WOD

This morning I took the boys out to a hair salon and got them all trimmed. My middle son wanted to dye his hair purple. Maybe when we get back to Canada, I will let him. He's such a punk.

I sent the boys home from there, told them to ask my mom to make them lunch. I said they could have whatever she could make, and they were all very happy.

I hurried my way to Reebok CrossFit Musashino. I was late, and they were mostly done the mobility.

Today's WOD was 5 rounds for time of 15 DB clean & thrusters, 5 Deadlifts, and 10 pushups. Finally got to touch a barbell. One time I dropped the barbell at the end of my reps, and Coach reminded me not to do it. Being able to just drop the barbell is luxury to have at my gym.

I felt good after the workout. Today I met Anna, a girl from Australia, who started CrossFit back in February and got totally hooked. She basically took a year off of work, and she's travelling around the world visiting different affiliates everywhere. She was actually at the potluck yesterday at Chikara. I'm sure I'll bump into her again.

I love their routine that everyone takes a cloth and a spray and wash the floor and all the equipment after every session. Great way to keep the gym clean and have some bonding time with each other.

Then I went to Starbucks for some me time. From there, I called my sister if she could come out for a coffee but she needed to take care of some stuff at home, so I was unable to have a chat with her today.

I headed to the hospital to see my dad. "I thought you were not coming today." was what he said. He had the dates a bit mixed up.

I started our usual routine exercise. I noticed that he wasn't willing to do it. He didn't mind me moving his joints, but I couldn't get his attention very well. Need some strategies to motivate him.

His ankles were getting swollen too. I don't know the exact cause or mechanism of edema, but the fact that he's in bed all day and edema is showing in the ankles, it must have a lot to do with lack of mobility and muscle mass.

He told me that today he was put on a wheel chair and he went around the hallway all by himself. He said he doesn't get to do it very often. Some nurses would tell him to do it, others don't.

I had him sit up on the bed again. He complained some pain in the hip joint. He also told me how my mom would push him harder whenever he complained pain. 

I'm facing a challenge here. As long as he stays passive, the change will not happen. I will continue to motivate him and tell him that he, too, is designed to be extraordinary.

Tomorrow my boys and I, along with my sister, will go to Disneyland. It's one of the biggest events in this trip. We will start our day early so I must get well rested.

Day 10

Day 10 : Awesome people at CrossFit

I stayed up last night making a video blog and for some reason I could not sleep much last night.

This morning I was planning to go to Chikara CrossFit for group training but I did not have enough time to put all my ducks in order so I cancelled my reservation. We did go to Chikara for the potluck event in the afternoon.

I just loved the atmosphere there. Very international, high in energy, lots of good food, nice conversations. Coach Otoya trained with Kelly Starrett at San Francisco CrossFit, which made me totally jealous. He shared some of his vision about bringing CrossFit to Japan. Coach Moe, who ranked the 7th in the Asia Regional, seemed to have a very high potential and she's aiming to make it to the Games. She is interested in Kids CrossFit, which I think is an awesome idea. Coach Shingo was such a fun guy, engaging everyone into conversation. It was just pure awesome being there. I absolutely highly recommend this place if anyone is looking for a CrossFit affiliate in Tokyo. Coach Otoya asked me if I'd come for training every day while I was in Japan. Maybe not every day but definitely a few more times. My boys enjoyed the time there too. My youngest was all cute and social, and now he is hoping to visit there again.

We headed back to our home station, and I sent my boys home ahead. I went to see my dad from there.

I didn't see him yesterday, and I felt that I actually missed him. Not like I felt bad not showing up, but I actually really missed him.

I got there and my dad greeted me with "You didn't come yesterday." I felt good about it. He is expecting me to come. He is looking forward to seeing me.

We just did the usual chat and exercise.

Today I asked him two questions.

One was whether he wanted to see my mom. He said he did, but he also said that it really upset him that she hadn't shown up. I asked him why he thought that my mom wouldn't come to visit. His answer was "It's because her back still hurts." I said "Yes, that's one reason, but can you think of any other reasons?" He didn't have any idea. He was like "There must be some other reasons, but I can't think of anything I've done that would stop her from coming." He doesn't know how much my mom has to do when he is home, and how little her hard work is appreciated.

The other question was whether he wanted to stand on his feet and walk around on his own again. He said, "Yes, but not right now." I said, "Then when?" There was a pause, and I continued "You will not get ready to stand back up just laying in bed. You have to make a choice and decide to stand up on your feet, and start working toward it. Yes, it will be hard. It will be tiring. But as you go, your body will start adapting. At first it may be only 30 seconds. But gradually the 30 seconds will become a minute. Then a few minutes. It gets longer as you keep working on it." He just smiled a little, and didn't say anything.

I forgot to take a picture again.

Tomorrow I will probably go out for a coffee with my sister. I really want to see what she is thinking. I'm planning to go to Reebok CrossFit Musashino as well.

Day 9

Day 9 : Movie, walk, and "spine up"

I spent my morning at the ward office taking care of some paper work. Now we are officially residents in Tokyo. But it took longer than I expected so I could not go to see my dad at the hospital today as I had planned to.

We had sushi for lunch, and then headed out to a movie theatre. My middle son wasn't feeling 100% yet but well enough to go out. The boys enjoyed the movie. We bought advance tickets to an upcoming Masked Rider movie as well.

We spent some time walking around the Shinjuku area and then we headed to see Dr Sachio at Café of Life Tokyo to get checked. We went there last summer. We got out of the station from a different exit and we totally got lost. Thank goodness I had Dr's number on my cell phone. We got there and my youngest just jumped on the table. It's so awesome that my kids don't even question about it. We all got checked and got much needed adjustment. Power's on! I gave Dr. Sachio a Life By Design Approved t-shirt that my husband bought specially for me from Ottawa, and a Life By Design radio CD. I also mentioned Life Con. I asked him if the number of chiropractors is increasing in Japan. His answer was yes the number is going up but the quality is going down. Mainly because they do not have philosophy, and their goal standards are so low. Somebody please bring some principled chiropracTORs to Japan!!

We took a long way home. My middle son is still processing and had a nose bleed in the middle of the train ride. It was a tiring day for sure. At least we all have our power turned on.

We came home and had a nice pork chop dinner. Yum. Thanks Mom.

Tomorrow, I'm going to take all my boys to CrossFit Chikara. I'm joining a group class, and then they will have a Paleo potluck, watching the CrossFit Games. Awesome.

Day 8

Day 8 : Looking back and looking forward.

I still had a sore throat and so did my middle son. His fever was down but he wasn't ready for a movie. He said that he'd like to enjoy the popcorn at the theatre so he wanted to have his throat better for the occasion. Funny kid.

I took the boys out to Kichijoji again. They enjoyed "gacha-gacha" at Yodobashi Camera. We had snack at Starbucks. I had an iced Americano with heavy cream. I had to ask for heavy cream in a strange fashion. "The whipping cream that's not whipped."

Since I was already in Kichijoji where my dad's hospital is located, I asked my oldest to take the younger ones home. I like giving them this kind of little adventures here and there.

My dad looked well. He had dialysis this morning, and then he got his system cleaned out. That should have made him feel much better.

I could tell that he had more strength today. He was able to lift his hip much more easily today. I felt confident that I could sit him up today, so I went on and sat him up. It was sooo much easier today. I was getting used to doing this, but it wasn't only that. He looked more stable too. Very very encouraging. I told him it's important to do elevate his head more often so his heart can pump up the blood. I tried to move his spine and there still was one spot that made him yelp. One joint on his upper spine is causing pain. I can't wait to have him checked by a chiropractor in the future. As much as I know how important it is to restore the brain-body connection, this has to wait.

He told me that there was one more food item that he'd like to have if he got to go to Hakone. Unfortunately he couldn't remember what it was. I was happy that he kept thinking about it.

Also he pointed to the nurse who helped him with the enema procedure. After talking about how awesome those nurses are, he did say that he'd like to be able to go to the bathroom by himself.

Any "wants" that come from within, I celebrate.

I had a chance to talk to the care coordinator again. I just asked her what options are available. A lot to think about for sure.

My goal now is to have all my family members on the same page, and work toward the same goal. I will start a chat with my sister first once she gets back from her business trip.

It's been a week here, and I'm proud of myself how much I can focus on the positives, and I can just ignore any negative talk from my dad. 

Tomorrow if the kids are feeling better, I will take them to the movie.

Also, I contacted Dr. Sachio at Cafe of Life Tokyo. I might squeeze in an appointment tomorrow evening.

Day 7

Day 7 : Celebrating a small win

Today my boys and I had a plan to go to a movie in the morning, but when I woke up my middle son, he complained that he had a sore throat. His voice was rough too. I checked his temp and he had a fever, so we postponed our movie date.

I was still pretty tired. Maybe I'm still caught in the tail end of the jet lag. I too had a sore throat, so I took my morning very easy.

As I was getting ready to go out for training, my mom, looking at me in a tank top, asked me this. "So both you and your husband are looking jacked now?" I said "Yep. Pretty much." She said "Where is my youngest daughter heading to?"

I knew this was coming. I thought I was prepared. But it took me a while to actually put my thoughts together. All I could say was "I'm not trying to look jacked. I'm simply doing what my body requires. Strength training is necessary for you. I just ended up looking this way." She didn't say anything.

Then I headed out to Chikara CrossFit. The very first CrossFit affiliate in Tokyo. It was located in the heart of Tokyo, very close to the parliament and the prime minister's official residence. It was a bit hard to find the place, but I made it in time for the 2:00pm class.

I was greeted by Coach Otoya and Coach Shingo. This place had everything you need. Nice showers, vanity area, turf, kitchen... everything.

Today's class was run by Coach Shingo, who made it to the Asia regional. The class was pretty big for a weekday afternoon with 11 athletes. We did warm-up, mobility work, and today's WOD was accessary workout. 4 rounds of 8-10 split squats, 1 min rest, 8-12 Trap 3, 1 min rest, 30-45 sec side plank, 1 min rest. Coach Shingo was like "You should have come on a day with harder WOD. Today it's a bit boring. But it's important to do this once a week." I didn't mind it at all, and I'm sure I'd come for a different menu before I leave for Canada. Both Shingo and Otoya spent many years in San Francisco learning CrossFit, and they run their class mostly in English.

I enjoyed the hour there, promised that I'd come by again, and left. This weekend they will watch the CrossFit Games at the gym, so I'm planning on joining them along with my boys.

I hopped back on subway train and headed back to my home station. I stopped at the coffee shop and had a bite to eat. I chose curry there. Then I went to see my dad.

He sounded a little weak today. He asked me to pull out something from the drawer for him. He said he ate all his lunch, but he wasn't feeling very well.

I started the exercise. I told him to push my hand back but he didn't have much control today. He complained that he was feeling a little dizzy, and he couldn't flex at all. He was breathing a bit heavily as well. I continued to work on his legs. But eventually he looked a bit out of breath, so I just had him take deep breaths.

He told me that today he was put on a wheel chair and spent some time in the meeting room. I came to understand that he spent some time sitting up today so his blood pressure was affected. That's probably why he was feeling dizzy. I decided not to sit him up today.

He told me that he could move around on the wheel chair, and the nurse was surprised to see him move around. Then she would tell him to work harder. "They all make me work harder. Your mom too. Always harder, more." I asked him why they'd say that to him. He was like "I have no idea. Maybe because they are mean." I said, "No. It's not because they are mean. It's because they believe that you can do more." But I know that "more" has to come from within. Right now hearing "more" and "harder" only gives him unnecessary pressure, and he rejects it all.

I asked him again what he'd do if he was free from all the conditions. He was like "I told you already. I want to go to Hakone." He talked about all the train rides and places to see, even the food he'd like to eat as well. Maybe I'll go find a book on Hakone and bring it to him soon.

Then he said something absolutely remarkable. 

"Now that you come and help me move, I can lift my hip a little bit. I couldn't do this at all."

He grabbed the railings and lifted his hip just a little bit. Being able to shift his own body in bed is a huge deal. And he actually associated the exercise he's been doing with me and the change in his ability. "That's awesome. You can do something you couldn't do before. See, your body will respond. Your body can get better."

He was still breathing heavy and looked tired, so I left the hospital.

I cried all the way home.

From now on, I gotta make sure that he knows it's his own hard work that will make a difference. Not mine.

No photo today.

I don't have anything planned tomorrow. Depending on how my middle son is feeling, we will do something for fun.

Day 6

Day 6 : Fatigued and Thunder stormed

I stayed up late last night (again) and slept in this morning. I made breakfast for the kids and decided to lay down for a while, then I ended up sleeping 3 more hours till I was called for lunch. I must really get my sleep in order.

After lunch, I still felt very very tired. One of the kids' friends came over to play and I finally started to do stuff.

Then, on the news comes the thunder storm and flood alert. It still looked okay outside, but if a storm is coming, I should get going. But shortly after, the sky got really dark and it started to pour. Hmm, maybe I'd have to skip my hospital visit today.
When it stopped raining, my mom asked me to do some groceries, so I quickly got that done. I felt better and the weather looked okay, so I headed to the hospital.

As soon as I walked in, my dad asked me to lend him money. It was an odd request, but he just needed to buy more prepaid cards for his TV set. I got him 5 more cards today.
He looked in a better spirit today. He ate all his lunch today, despite he was tired from his dialysis session this morning. He didn't remember what he ate though.
I started the usual exercise. Today I started to add a little bit of resistance. I asked him to push my hand back.
I worked all the way up to his shoulders and neck today. But I did not sat him up today.
What I found out today was that his right leg is stronger than the left. He has a stronger grip in his left hand than the right.
He asked me to help him cross his legs. He put one leg on the other and tried to bend the knees with the legs crossed, but couldn't quite get in a comfortable position. So I helped him get in the position. It turned out that it hurts so much that it won't help him at all.

Today I asked him one big question.
"If you were free from all the conditions you have now, no kidney disease, no dialysis, no medication, and you could walk around on your own feet and do whatever you wanted to do, what would you like to do?"
He said he'd never thought about anything like that. I asked him to think about it and tell me about it tomorrow when I come and see him.
I also asked him where he'd like to visit again if he had a chance. His answer was Hakone. To me, it's totally doable so it'll be added to the list of places to go.

I haven't had a chat with my mom since. Not really sure where to start yet.

My dad looked a bit more lively today.

Tomorrow I'll get up early and take the kids out for a movie. In the afternoon, I'm planning to visit another CrossFit box and train there. Excited.

Day 5

Day 5 : Eel day

I woke up even sorer this morning. I was feeling pretty wiped out but managed to get out of bed so I could put the garbage out. Garbage collection in Tokyo is much more frequent than in London, Ontario, but you still don't want to miss a day.

We had breakfast a little later than usual, and FaceTimed my husband who was working in the office on Sunday night for whatever reason. It is always great to know that there is someone who truly supports me and encourages me.

We spent some time in the morning at home, then I decided to take the boys out to the public pool. I quickly whipped up some protein shake and gave it to the kids, and we headed to the pool. It was only ¥1000 for one adult and three children for 2 hours of swim. Nice outdoor pool with a small wade pool. The youngest would go back and forth between the big pool and the wade pool, while the middle one just made friends with a young lady who was there by herself, and spent the entire time just chatting with her. The oldest looked a little bored since he didn't have anyone to play with, and yet he had to take the youngest to the bathroom when needed. No wonder the oldest was willing to leave the pool well before the 2 hours were up.

I decided to go off-track on eating and took the kids to a fast food place for snack/lunch. This could very well be the first and last fast food experience in this trip.

Then we headed home. I stopped at the grocery store after sending the boys home. I bought some chicken thigh hoping to have some grilled chicken for dinner, then my mom reminded me that today was the eel day. It is a Japanese custom that they eat eel on this day so they can stay healthy in the hot summer. I had no problem eating eel for dinner, so the chicken thigh just got stored away in the fridge.

It was already past 5:00pm when I finally went out to see my dad. I knew that his dinner time was at 6:00pm, so I needed to hurry my way. But I already established this new routine that I stop at a coffee shop before I get on a train, go over what I'm going to talk about with my dad and go through all the exercise I'm going to do today. So I did the same and ended up getting there almost at 6:00pm.

The first thing he said was "There's something I wanted you to help me with." He wanted to have his legs crossed in bed because his legs get tired being in the same position, but he couldn't lift his leg up enough to have them crossed. I will have to start adding resistance to the exercise.

I knew that his dinner was coming soon, but I started to work on his ankles as usual. I worked on his knees and a little bit of leg raise, then the dinner was served, so I stopped there. There was a few pieces of eel on top of the rice porridge. There was some shrimp dumpling cooked with some veggies, and cucumber salad. To someone like me who eats By Design, the hospital meal does not look like fuel source. I wondered what I'd make for my dad. The first thing that comes to mind is usually bone broth, though I've never made bone broth myself. Maybe I'd throw some fish and lots of veggies in there too.

Back when my dad was home for a short period of time, he refused to eat anything solid, so my mom would cook high calorie soup with lots of butter and cheese melted in it. She was on the right track, I'd say. Too bad it didn't last very long.

I talked about my day and how my boys love swimming. He noticed how tanned I was, which in my opinion, was a big deal. He told me that he liked the lunch today because it had beef.

I saw some pills in a small container so I asked him what they were prescribed for. He didn't know what they were, and said his doctor didn't explain to him. This made me realize once again how detached his mind is from his condition. He doesn't know and he doesn't care.

I decided to cut my visit short today. I wasn't able to work on his hip joints or upper body today, but since me being back home for dinner was also important for me and my kids, and it'd take a long time for my dad to finish eating, I just left the hospital.

Yep. I'm his daughter.

Walking home, I was flooded with lots of random thoughts. So random that I can only write them randomly. They are more questions than thoughts, actually.

• People in Tokyo walk a lot. They walk with heavy groceries, up the stairs to the station, stand in the train, etc. It'd probably make a good workout if they did it in a certain way.
• People in Tokyo are not fat. But not being fat doesn't mean that they are healthy.
• I'm probably the only person among these hundreds of people that I pass by who lifts heavy.
• My dad's weight doesn't scare me. I've got the strength to actually pick him up. But then, I realize that my dad is not a barbell. I wouldn't be able to throw him down on the floor when I need to bail. 
• One time, someone close to me said that she couldn't believe that my dad was still alive. At that time I felt offended, but it truly is amazing that he is still alive, considering all the medicine he takes and all the chemicals that go into his blood through the dialysis process. Human body can adapt so much. Wow.
• Does my mom actually really hate my dad? Is there love between them?
• Is it really possible to have my dad back home?
• I want my dad to be able to stand up on his feet again. But does he?
• I wish the hospital meal didn't use rice and bread to fill up the necessary calories. He should be home so I could feed him better. But I'm not staying here forever.
• Would my dad ever see that he is responsible of his own life?
• I need to go back to the gym.
• Oh, and I better get some sleep.
• I should have a coffee date with my sister soon.

I think it's time to take the whole thing up a notch. I will start presenting some important questions to both my mom and dad. I'm a bit hesitant because my mom looks a little bit tired and stressed from having us back in the house, and my dad's still in the hospital. I feel scared that I might have to make a big scene. How will I bring up those questions? 

As for the exercise, adding some resistance and making it a bit more of strength training would be the next step.

Day 4

Day 4 : Slow and steady

I woke up feeling very sore. 100 pushups, 100 pullups, and 200 squats left me in pain. Good pain.

I really had nothing planned today, so I decided to take it easy. I spent most of the morning cleaning the house. Then I made lunch and just chilled for a while. In the evening, I went out to see my dad again.

He was watching TV when I got there. I asked him if he had eaten lunch and he said he couldn't eat much because he was not feeling well. He did have a piece of bread that was served.

Then I started to do some exercise with him again. The same thing as the last time. Today he was under the cover so his feet were warm. He didn't mind moving his ankles by himself, which was very encouraging. I held up his feet and tried to improve the range of motion. I went up from his ankles to knees, hip, hand, arms and neck. I have not started adding resistance yet. This time I asked him to take some deep breath to open up his ribs. This was something I found very helpful when I got my shoulder injured. At the end, I sat him up on the bedside and rubbed his back. After all that I laid him back on bed. He didn't want the cover back on because he felt hot. It was a good sign.

While doing the exercise, I chatted with my dad about stuff, which started to show me some of his rather skewed view of life and people in general. I'm not ready to write about it in details, but all the things I heard from him today, I was able to compare to what my mom would describe about him. I kept a distance from him for my entire life up to now, and I just started to see him as who he is. There's no doubt that the root of the whole problem is bigger than I can imagine. I am reconnecting with him and trying to make small changes, which will hopefully bring out some progress that may inspire him to change his beliefs.

I came home after doing some groceries. It was a bit later than I hoped and when I got home, my mom suggested to go out for dinner. I had to say no to this offer. This is our vacation as well and we are planning to go many places, so unless we are out and about and we have to eat out, I'd rather eat at home. My mom looked a little upset and the whole time she was making dinner for us, she was very quiet. I did not mean to force her to cook, but I didn't make it clear that I didn't mind cooking, so that was my fault. I did insist to do the dishes if that means anything.

Tomorrow I'd like to take a positive turn and have some fun with my boys.

Day 3

Day 3 : Let's get moving!

This morning I got up slightly later than the last couple of days, had breakfast, and left my children with my sister and mom so I could go to my first CrossFit training in Tokyo.

I visited Reebok CrossFit Musashino. This is a new box that just opened a couple of months ago, and conveniently located from my parents house. I left home early so I would have enough time. It turned out that it was only 30-40 min. to get there. I might even consider biking to the gym next time. (Yes, there will be a next time for sure.)

The gym was located in a basement of a small building. When I got there, there were two athletes prepping for bench press. Coach Miki greeted me with a gentle smile. I was already feeling good just seeing their rowing machine and Rogue weight sets. I signed the waiver and got changed, and then Coach Miki told me that I could use whatever was there to warm up. I took my time to do all my routine, and just watched the other guys doing their workouts. When I said hi to everyone, they were like "Wow, you must train a lot." I guess I didn't really hide it.

When Coach Miki announced that today they would do Murph, one of the Hero WODs, I got a little bit nervous. He kindly let us know that it was already scaled, but I knew it'd take a long time nonetheless.
It was 1 km run (instead of 1 mile run), 100 pushups, 100 pull-ups (instead of 200), 200 air squats (instead of 300), and another 1 km run (instead of 1 mile).

We went outside, ran to a school which was 1 km point, did the pushups and squats, ran back to the gym and did the pull-ups. My pushups and pull-ups were scaled and I finished at 38:22, and felt pretty good about it. I earned a cool wristband for completing the WOD. Wahoo!!

Since this gym is very close to my parents house, I've decided that this is going to be my home gym for the rest of my stay. I will try a couple of other CrossFit gyms in Tokyo.

I went home, and found that my mom fed my children some lunch. She also had some buckwheat noodles. I did not see any protein on the table, so I passed on the noodle and made myself a meaty buttery plate. It was my first time really saying No Thank You to the food my mom prepared. I felt a little bit awkward when I offered some of my food to the others and everyone said No Thank You. But I quickly got over with it because I definitely felt good about feeding myself with what my body required.

Then I spent a little time with my boys, but they had the neighbour friends over, so I decided to just keep doing my own stuff. I went out to do the groceries, and bought us some more fish.

After that, I went out again to see my dad. I brought him a radio, some clean pjs, and his cell phone today. He told me that a friend of his from high school came for a visit today. So great to hear that someone cares for him.
Then I started to do some exercise with him. I started with his ankles, and was surprised how cold his feet were. He said they were always cold, but I was sure that they needed more blood flowing down there.
I expected his joints to be very stiff, and they were more so than I had imagined. But after a couple of minutes of moving the ankle joints, they did start to loosen up a bit. He had some sores on his right heel  from rubbing against the bed sheet, which apparently hurt to touch, so I needed to work around it. I moved up from ankles to knees, hands, elbows, and shoulders. But I didn't really know what to do with his hip joints, so I'd have to look them up.
Then, I had him sit up on the bedside. I ran my hand down his spine, which felt really exposed, and there was a sore spot on the back as well. I wondered how Dr. Jamie would approach this. I really wished I could bring a LBD chiropractor with me.
I kept telling him how amazing the human body is, how his broken bone could still heal, and how I had transformed at the age of 38. He is no different. He is the same human. If he chooses to keep moving, his body will move. If he chooses to stop moving, his body will stop moving too.
I'm no expert, so whatever I do may not be the most effective, optimal way. But I do know that I'm heading the right direction, and I know it's a process. So I will keep going.
There were a couple of other things I found out today. Their breakfast and lunch always include bread, which my dad prefers to rice, and dinner comes with a huge bowl of rice porridge.
The other thing is that my dad does want to go home.

The hospital staff asked me if we as a family had discussed what we'd do about my dad. Well, it's not something we can decide in a couple of days, so I just said we didn't have time to talk about it yet.

I came home, and my mom had dinner ready. My kids were already done eating. I need to plan my day better, so I can be home prepping meals with my mom.

I had another little chat with my mom after dinner. Long story short, she is not ready or willing to take care of my dad at home. Her back still hurts. And more than anything, she is deeply scarred in heart. There was something that my dad said while he was home for a couple of months that really really hurt her. And she cannot take it any more. She has lost hope in my dad.

I think she deserves a better life as well. She does not have to live as a servant to my dad. If having my dad back home means my mom sacrifices her life, then that's not going to happen.

But the other option poses whole a lot of other problems too.

I'm thinking that my family need to start with figuring out their values. Think By Design 101.

I will need more chats with my mom.

It really comes down to taking full responsibility in your own life and health. 

"No one is coming to save you."

That's the reality.

How am I going to present it to my parents? I don't know.

Day 2

Day 2 in Tokyo

My jet-lagged younger boys woke up at 3:50 am this morning and were rocking out their Just Dance moves while my brother was sleeping in the next room. Boys...

Today I took my boys out to see Tokyo Skytree along with my sister. Most schools were not done yet, so I figured it'd be better to check out this popular sightseeing spot before everyone started their vacation. But we had no idea how busy this place would be, so we left at 8:30 am.

I put all my boys in the awesome West London CrossFit T-shirts. Helps me spot my kids in the crowd. My sister is their favourite Japanese aunt.

After a few train rides during the last bit of the rush hour, we made it to this newly built TV tower. It was done last year when we visited Japan but we didn't have the chance to go see it. 

We were right about making this trip today. There was hardly any waiting time anywhere. I've heard that when it's busy, it's over 2 hours waiting time just to buy admission tickets.

We went all the way up to the top deck, stood on the glass floor, took some pictures, had some coffee time, and then took the elevator down to the ground again. It was a beautiful tower, and all the details were amazing. I'm sure it'd look really pretty at the night time.

We had sushi for lunch, which was a huge hit!
Kids were very happy that they got to see the tower and experience the sushi restaurant where all the plates are conveyed on a belt and you can take whatever you want.

There were other attractions there like a planetarium and an aquarium, but we got really tired from walking all morning, so we just headed home.

Dinner was a Korean style BBQ. It was perfect. I love meat and veggies on the grill. Yum.

Tomorrow is going to be a very exciting day for me. I'm dropping in at CrossFit Musashino. Also I'm going to see my dad at the hospital. Things are getting real here.

Two days in and we've accomplished quite a lot already. I'm going to be nice an early so I can start my day early tomorrow.

Day 1

Day 1 in Tokyo.

Me and my three boys arrived at my parents house just after 6:00 pm on July 17. My mom had dinner ready for us. I was pretty tired so we went to bed nice and early. 

This morning we all got up bright and early. We had a nice shower and bath and enjoyed our first By Design breakfast. 

Then we decided to go out. We went to Kichijoji and checked out our all time favorite electronic store Yodobashi Camera. Kids enjoyed "gacha-gacha" and some arcade games. I bought the Japanese version Just Dance Wii 2 so my boys can keep rocking their dance moves in Tokyo. 

Then we visited my dad at the hospital. He had dialysis and was back in his bed eating late lunch. He looked so very happy to see us and even had some tears. He said that none of the family members had visited him since he went back to the hospital. Yes, very sad. But my mom hurt her back big time and she is still recovering. She rarely goes out, which is a problem in itself. 

The staff there was all surprised to see the kids. Apparently Dad never told them about his grandsons. I felt kinda bad because we were that much disconnected from him for so long. He was literally skin and bone. His legs looked almost thinner than my arms.

I had chance to talk to a care coordinator there. She wanted to know what the family's plan would be about Dad. If we want to look after him at home or we will have him in a "home". Definitely something that needs to be decided on soon. 

I kept my visit short today as I had all three boys with me. Next time I will come alone and spend some time chatting with him and mobilizing him a bit. 

As I was leaving, I told him to try working on moving his legs. He said "They won't move."  I said "They don't. You move them."  Then he said " You sound like the nurses here."  Yes of course Dad. 

After seeing him today I am more determined to come and see him as often as possible while I'm here.

I sent my boys home and I had some me  time. I got a bit emotional thinking about my dad, what step I would take next. Having Starbucks in Japan was very much appreciated. 

Dinner today was mostly to my requests. Some non By Design items there but it was awesome to enjoy fish from the sea. 

We also got to meet our neighbors. So nice to see them again. 

There you go. Day 1 was pretty awesome.

Tomorrow I'm taking the boys to Tokyo Sky Tree. It will be fun.