"Life is about not knowing, having to change, taking the moment and making the best of it without knowing what's going to happen next."

Friday, December 25, 2015

Shimo Family Update--December 25, 2015

It's dawned on me that our two older boys aren't little helpless kids anymore. I mean, look at that face--Kenji's a grown boy, soon-to-be-teenager. He's no longer willing to baby his younger brothers either; he has enough to think about himself (boy, his own life is stressful enough). 
I'm really feeling it lately--the real problems of two grown-ups. Man, I gotta prepare myself for much more. I know I'm hardly close to dealing with the biggest problems. They're due to come. Scratching the neighbors car, stealing, lying, cheating, bullying and getting bullied are the smallest of the problems in their lives. They're 9 and 10. Boy! Looking at mine and Fay's personalities we have very little chance of smooth-sailing with any of our kids. 
Thankfully, I'm still fairly young and my mind is quick. I'm able to catch problems before they get too big. I can outsmart both of my boys every time. But I know that the time is soon to come that they'll outdo me. It's a matter of time. 

I tell you, I haven't had a better job in my life. 12 days off at the end of the year in winter; 5 days off in spring; 10 days off in summer, and another 5 days off in fall. I don't know how much more I can ask for to spend with my family without spoiling the £$%& outta them and spending too much. 
I have to say, though, this time off is much needed. I'm a boring person when my mind is focused on work. My workplace becomes my world, and all I can think and talk about is my work. This time away from care and worry is exactly what I need periodically. I'd be living a very different life without it. 
Time to think and plan with a clear and relaxed mind makes it possible to make true decisions. Often, when pressure is all around, proper judgment becomes impossible. 

Thursday, December 24, 2015

Merry Christmas of 2015


  It's been a great year. It flew by like a flash. Photo's of last year's Christmas is still on the same camera that took this photo. That's how stretched I've been.

  I won't lie and say it's a walk in the park having 3 sons. They certainly are the cause of a few white hairs, and the quote is indeed true that goes, "All my paper money is replaced with pictures of my children." Choosing to start a family for me was not a business move.
  Having 3 kids isn't cheap. They need things and want things, and then they break things. They get sick at the most inconvenient of times. They live a lifestyle that is virtually impossible to support by essence of the expectations of their schools, neighbors, and friends. I won't say it's impossible to have a top-notch and excellent family and business life simultaneously, but it virtually is. I would venture to say that 99% of people cannot maintain it for more than a couple years. Choosing to have a family, though, is the most fulfilling and rewarding of them all.

Wednesday, August 26, 2015

August 2015 Update

Man, I almost forgot about this blog. With so many other social media avenues, blogging is starting to feel old school. Regardless, though, this is my collage of personal family photos. Pictures of Tateyama and summer fireworks of August, 2014 aren't too many posts behind. 






Wednesday, May 6, 2015

Golden Week Aftershock

I'm exhausted after Golden Week and here's my rant...

There are moments that I wonder what it's all for. I wake up Monday morning with the Monday blues, I tumble through the morning, and by the afternoon I manage to get my bearings. I'm feeling pretty good on Monday night. Friday comes around like a flash, and I realize that I should probably let my hair down. 
The stress of the week is apparent in my wife and kids, so the first day of the weekend is a struggle to help each other kick back a little. On successful first day's everyone's relaxed by the evening. But not always. 
Monday rolls around again, and another scratchy morning, but then Friday comes back and the drama at work fades into oblivion almost as if automatically not a part of my memory. The weekend again, and then Monday. Friday again, and then the weekend. 
Once in a while it'll dawn on me that this routine is killing my spirit. I get reminded of the spunky little dare-devil I once was, and I miss it. So a determined part of me squeezes a chunk of days off of work to do a few things out of the ordinary. Yet even that is exhausting. I make the same mistake every time, and I fail to remind myself that my responsibilities at work and home don't change, and taking a substantial amount of time off of work just means less time to do what I need to do. 











They'll all grow up one day, and I don't wanna regret not being there to watch them grow. So however exhausting it is to be in the midst of their craziness, I will. 

Friday, February 13, 2015

Zuma's Funny Toe

In memory of Zuma's funny toe, the facts are that he was born with a minor deformity in his pinkie toe of his right foot. I noticed it on the 2nd day. We took him for an X-Ray a couple months later and were told that there was a second bone growing in his smallest toe.


He had an operation on January 30th. His leg was in a caste for 10 days. Photos of his fixed toe is coming soon. 


Friday, January 23, 2015

Sub-zero Temperatures

January 24, 2015

  This pic was taken on New Year's Eve on the slopes of the snow-covered mountains of Nagano. I didn't know that nature could be both so cruel and benevolent at the same time.

Friday, January 16, 2015

Miniature Theme Park

December 29, 2014
This miniature theme park is about as close as we can get to the wonders of the world.