I've been experiencing flashbacks to nearly 40 years ago. No, they aren't spontaneous; and no, I'm not losing my mind (yet). I've pulled out all the letters I wrote to my mother, sister and one of my friends during the years I lived in Japan. Everyone saved the letters because they found them so interesting, chronicling my daily life in a foreign country. I cringe when I read how much of many letters is preoccupied with attempts to get pregnant and to lose weight. My brother-in-law once said to my sister, "How can you say that your diet is successful when you've only been on it for just one meal?" He was right. There are numerous instances of me thrilled that I'd managed to stick to the diet for a meal or two or even a day. Few and far between are mentions of actual weight loss.
Once I push beyond the guilt I feel for inflicting such stuff on my loved ones, it's interesting to see that the letters do contain some good descriptions of my personal experiences, Japanese traditions and such. Noted in their pages, there are some things I'd forgotten. Some memories of events perfectly match their descriptions in my writing. And some experiences have changed as they've become memories. It's a bit disconcerting at times to find that my memories are somewhat skewed. Yet it's very satisfying when the writing matches the memory exactly.
Before taking out the letters, I'd already written about 350 double spaced typed pages of my Japanese memoir. Now, the trick is to separate the chaff from the grain and try to find things worth adding to the book. I'm finding it very difficult! Life is a mixture of happy and sad, good and bad and every other feeling and experience there is. Reading through my life in Japan is like reliving it. My moods swing with the neat written words on the blue airletters or white stationery. I wish I could still write as neatly as most of these letters. I don't know how I kept the lines so straight. I don't know how I could write such tiny letters when I had a lot to say and little room to say it. Words escape the confines of the letter and are found all over the envelope in every empty space on the back. They spiral around and some are upside down. I don't have the patience to try to decipher them and need to get new reading glasses if I really want to attempt it.
My stomach tells me it's time for food.
If you can't work in the garden, or don't enjoy it, take out a good book or sit down and write.
Once I push beyond the guilt I feel for inflicting such stuff on my loved ones, it's interesting to see that the letters do contain some good descriptions of my personal experiences, Japanese traditions and such. Noted in their pages, there are some things I'd forgotten. Some memories of events perfectly match their descriptions in my writing. And some experiences have changed as they've become memories. It's a bit disconcerting at times to find that my memories are somewhat skewed. Yet it's very satisfying when the writing matches the memory exactly.
Before taking out the letters, I'd already written about 350 double spaced typed pages of my Japanese memoir. Now, the trick is to separate the chaff from the grain and try to find things worth adding to the book. I'm finding it very difficult! Life is a mixture of happy and sad, good and bad and every other feeling and experience there is. Reading through my life in Japan is like reliving it. My moods swing with the neat written words on the blue airletters or white stationery. I wish I could still write as neatly as most of these letters. I don't know how I kept the lines so straight. I don't know how I could write such tiny letters when I had a lot to say and little room to say it. Words escape the confines of the letter and are found all over the envelope in every empty space on the back. They spiral around and some are upside down. I don't have the patience to try to decipher them and need to get new reading glasses if I really want to attempt it.
My stomach tells me it's time for food.
If you can't work in the garden, or don't enjoy it, take out a good book or sit down and write.