どうもありがとう ひいおばあちゃん

If you're reading this and wondering what the schmank we're doin' tossing in all that crazy kanji that no one can read then you really need to relax and grab a handful of perspective. Everyone in Japan has been struggling to read this for two months now. They can translate it using Google translation etc... but with all the slang and all the grammatical differences between English and Japanese it reads like a collection kindergarden poems. Anyway, it's not only about time that we worked a little harder at giving Zoey's family in Japan an easier read but we owe them an enormous thank you.

That's what you just read...どうもありがとう (Dōmo arigatō = thank you very much) and ひいおばあちゃん (hi i Obaachan = Great Grandmother)...

Today we received a package from Japan, an event that always used to excite June silly when she was growing up and still does it seems. Typically the packages were full of fun things that were impossible to find here in North America. June had the best clothes, backpacks, and stationary of any kid in elementary school, all of it pulled from the fun innards of boxes addressed to her Mom, Mihoko, marked with strange postage and confusing kanji. Today June received another box with all that same strange postage but inside were gifts for her daughter.

June's Baachan, Ei, sent her Great Grand daughter a stunning gift that has left everyone around here a little speechless. When June opened the box she found the most beautiful wooden display case for Zoey's Hina dolls on Girl's Day. Like we said earlier, Girl's Day is a pretty big deal and hi i Obaachan reinforced that notion with her gift. The case is more valuable than an airplane ticket to Tokyo and we swallowed a little harder when we discovered the actual cost of the thing. It seems hi i Obaachan plans on this gift lasting for generations...for Zoey's daughter to use it, and then her daughter after that. As her first Great Grandchild Zoey has secured a pretty special place. June's Baachan is 84 years young and eager to please while she's still more than able to please. I wish we had a better way of telling her how much pleasing she's actually done here. June is still floored at the beauty and significance of the gesture.

To add some fun to all that serious stuff we were surprised to see another package tucked in the box from June's Aunt Sae-Chan. It was full of the kind of goodies June remembers. There was an incredible cloak for Zo and the coolest rattle and stockings. Hi i Obaachan convinced us that this little girl's heritage and culture will play a big role in her life and then Sae-Chan goes and convinces us that she's gonna be OH-so spoiled through most of it. Today found a lucky little girl on the receiving end of a wonderful package from wonderful people. Pretty awesome that we get to call them our family.

どうもありがとう ひいおばあちゃん. Thanks so much!

For more pics head on over to June's Flickr page for a peek.