Goodbye

11:14 am October 20, 2004 (Shimodate)
10:14 pm October 19, 2004 (Ottawa)

Lisa's visit for the last month was certainly an adventure. It was not what I expected, dreaded, or hoped for. Basically I didn't anticipate any of it being the way it was. I spent a lot of the early days feeling vaguely dissatisfied because I wasn't spending as much time with Lisa as I wanted, and because she and Tanya constantly talked about wanting to live near each other. Neither seemed to care about being near me.

I did have a few changes to talk to Lisa though as she stayed her month with me. They were probably some of our better talks. I think we are closer to what we were now than we have been in a few years. A fact for which I am extremely thankful.

Dropping Lisa off in Tokyo was worse than leaving Ottawa for me. It was another goodbye, but this time I didn't have the thrill of a new adventure on the horizon to distract me.

As it happens Tanya and I had a major adventure on our way home, but as this entry is about Lisa I will wait to tell that story another time.

In a recent entry I was very negative about Lisa's stay, but we have since spoken at length about all that, and now I count her visit as one of the most valuable and fulfilling parts of my time here in Japan. Even though I am now forced to look at our history differently.

Are we closer now than we have ever been? No, that would be too much to hope for. We are definitely closer now than when I left Ottawa though, and that is great.

Good luck in Tokyo Lisa, I'll try to visit soon.