saying goodbye

"No one wants to hear that their hero has cancer" starts off a commercial here in Hawaii...so true.

For nearly a year and a half, my mom fought her pancreatic cancer as hard as she could, living past the prognosis she was given.

She kept as positive as she could and took care of all of us for as long as she could too.

When I was about to leave a couple of weeks ago to go back to Osaka, she asked me to extend my stay.

In hindsight, I think she knew her time was coming.

Taking the advice of my brother and aunties and with the understanding of Satoshi, I made it back to Hawaii just in time to be with her and the rest of my family for her makura-gyo (pillow service a.k.a. last rites service).

And on the next morning when she passed, I was lucky to be holding her hand.

I believe she's now at peace and free of pain.

Aunty M found a quote that says what I think my Mom might have wanted to say to us.

The nice thing about this quote is that it is by my Mom's favorite cartoon character, Winnie the Pooh...

"If ever there is tomorrow when we're not together..

there is something you must always remember.

You are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem,
and smarter than you think.

But the most important thing is, even if we're apart..

I'll always be with you.”

The day after she passed, this spider orchid bloomed in our patio. Her favorite color is purple, so I thought it was her sign to me that she was in a good place.

Thank you Mom for everything, I admire you for your courage, I'll miss you a lot and love you always.