I Can Never Say My Job's Finished

In the past two weeks especially, I have noticed that in early afternoon at the latest I am really feeling tired. This past week the weather has turned cold with the start of the rainy season. so add to the tiredness some aching joints in reaction to the weather.  Today I realized that perhaps part of the tiredness is due to the Spring Cleaning/Change Over that step by step  has been accomplished in about that same amount of time.  I had a famous two days at the beginning of the month where all of the Guest Home beds and a few additional futons were full.  I had gotten the main building changed over before that and after I did the annex.

The Change Over involved putting the winter duvets (actually called kakibuton here) into Space Bags after airing them and getting out the summer weight ones I put away last autumn. Also every bed here in the winter has an electric blanket under the bottom sheet. These are thankfully washable and so were collected washed and hung to dry.  They are the last thing that needs to be put away in some of the rooms. The mattresses for the most part were turned and the mattress pads were laundered as well. While I was at it I moved all the furniture in the rooms and vacuumed and dusted behind everything. 

Cleaning a couple of recently vacated rooms today I realized that my enemy, the ubiquitous mildew has been lurking undetected under the lids and behind the toilets in the unit baths! Yuck, I hate mildew! There's a handy spray cleaner here that is called Kabi Kira. (Kabi is the Japanese word for mildew, kira is Japanese for, well...killer.) So, something else to tend to in this round of cleaning.

Trudge Mode

I've been in 'trudge mode' for about the last month.  I get up in the morning and start the things that must be done.  When I finish one thing I move on to the next and trudge through the day till it's time to go to bed.  There are two consequences of this lifestyle: things on your to do list tend to get done, and if you're not careful, all the joy and spontaneity in life can be stifled.

Today marks a major change. Late this morning I will get on a train to go back to Olive No Sato Retreat Center in Nikko for the 2012 OMF East Japan Conference. I'll be gone till Friday. so I'll put in some pictures to entertain you till I get back.

Chapel

Building with guest rooms and dining room

The road beyond the camp

Nearby river

Evening Campfire

Changing Times

When I was in college, many long years ago, one of my mottoes was "Nothing's Quite As Sure As Change" I have in subsequent times discovered that God never changes, but stuff having to do do with human beings often does.

This week and next I re-experience the role of Ichikawa OMF Guest Home Manager while the Aylings are in Hokkaido.  Yes, I have subbed for them before, but this time they are preparing for their imminent departure from Japan. When they go I will be in charge for real. True, I did run the Guest Home myself from 2000 to 2002, but then I was younger, the Guest Home was new, and not so many people knew about it.

So, now, I relearn the rhythms of cleaning, and greeting, and laundry, and bookings, and accounting, and shopping, and finding time off for myself. While this is going on there are still a few things I need to do in the Serve Japan Office from time to time. 

I'm praying that I can pace myself to run well in the race that is set before me.

Cold and Rainy

Yesterday was the Vernal Equinox, but the weather took a turn from almost spring to more like winter today. It is a public holiday in Japan and perhaps a chance to take an even deeper breath before needing to head back to work tomorrow.

The schedule at the Guest Home is hard to keep track of as there are people canceling planned trips and others needing housing unexpectedly, but that's the point of having a place like that here. Even though I  do other kinds of jobs in Japan, taking care of people and keeping the facility ready for use is where my heart is. I'm happy to be able to step up to the challenge at this time.