zara chan

zara chan. 

the other day as we were walking through the park we saw a MASSIVE collection of toddlers up ahead. they were broken down into groups of 5-10 and there was probably 20-different stations where they were doing different activities (freeze tag, coloring, flag football, making parachutes, jump rope, etc) 

we decide to check it out and instantly Z was immersed and in her element :: she has no idea what is being said to her or what to say back, but she is LOVING the attention, being surrounded by new buddies and is smiling and laughing and just living her best life.

we do a couple different stations and end up at a table where the kids are doing arts and crafts and one of the instructors asks her name and then gives her a name tag with her name written in japanese. 

i bend down to take some photos and time does that crazy inception thing where suddenly everything just slows waaaaaaaaay down and starts to move in super duper slow motion. 

in that moment the world just goes white and calm and i felt such a simple but overwhelming sensation of gratitude and peace. i sat there looking at my baby girl and thinking about what these next few years will mean to her and vivi and my heart just felt ready to burst. 

we obviously weighed the pros/cons and talked A LOT about this move and what it would mean for us professionally and personally and what it would mean for the girls. and we obviously felt that japan was where we belonged... but even still there are moments of concern and stress and self-doubt and overwhelm. did we make a mistake? what if the girls don’t fit in or make friends? are we crazy???

but seeing Z there with her name spelled out in japanese (duct tape never looked so beautiful) pushed all those fears aside and for a few brief moments i sat there basking in nothing but gratitude and joy and love. 

i know the next few years will bring lots of ups and downs and that it’s gonna be a wild and crazy ride... but i know it’s also gonna be the best. 
it already is. 

❤️