Last year was a very hard year, well... I am understating it again - it was a massive roller coaster year....
Last year I lost 7 loved ones, my unborn goddaughter, my grandmother, my uncle, a cousin, and 3 friends were taken from us.
Also, last year I got the job in Japan and made the big plunge to go to here in Japan! and have been loving it ever since...
One moment though was the hardest - the day my grandmother passed away - she passed away on November 2nd 2006, and here i am in Japan...over 10000km away....
I had never felt so alone, but only for a short time. I started to write....what I wrote I still cannot bear to reread, but was spoken to everyone at the funeral.
I remember the day of her funeral I was allowed the day off work and sat by myself in an Internet cafe of all places, writing still...
but here is the thing, 7 people came up to me and placed a hand on my shoulder....
7 times I saw a nest with baby chicks in it....
7 times I heard a song that meant so much to me when the darkness fell in the past - "Don't Give Up"
7 times when tears started the sun came out
7 times I heard a baby or child laugh
7 times I felt a hand on my shoulder
And an anonymous person gave me 7 5-yen coins (a symbol of luck and hope in Buddhism - prolific in Japan - the number 5 that is)
7 people were lost to me last year, a heartache that still brings me to tears....I still miss them terribly...
but in 7 instances 7 symbols of hope let me know it was going to be okay....
They say it is only when you are in the darkest shadow do you really see and appreciate the light...
