Wild One

Just before Spring arrived, Koa turned one. We traveled all the way to Denmark to celebrate his birthday. With his crown on his head, he was the king of the jungle that day until he crashed with COVID 19. It started with Nicolai and we all got infected with COVID in the end. Unfortunate but fortunate that we extended the stay and spent a lot of time at home, which gave Koa good bonding time with his grandparents. It was funny that Koa waited to get sick until after the party was over. Despite the COVID, he actually had quite a blast on his birthday. As you can see, the room was filled with animals and balloons. We celebrated with Danish buns and cakes with the fondant animals on top, which me and his grandmother worked so hard to craft from the sugar blocks the day before.

The trip was mostly relaxing but some days were tough. We were proud we managed long flights with the never-sleeping infant, time adjustments, and ultimately fevers and symptoms from COVID. Nicolai and Koa got over it quite fast, while it took me and the grandparents several days to fully recover. Looking at the bright-side, we are all super immune to COVID now. After we got back to LA, we took an advantage of it and did as many activities as possible to make up for the lost time, the things we couldn't do during the pandemic.

The best thing from the trip was Koa was able to meet with his Danish side of the families including the great grandmother and great grandfather (this was before getting COVID and after recovering from it). Over two years of isolation and being apart from the families, we certainly had several tearful moments on these reunions and first introductions of Koa.

Coming back to the US, my life has changed quite a bit. I decided to resign from the company I have worked for nearly three years. The reason for resignation was simple. I needed a refresh in my career and I wanted to be with Koa. The job became more technical than creative, I was slowly loosing my passion for design. It was about time time to reset it and find a new path. Ever since I quit my job, I feel like I can breath again, eat well, sleep better, and be there for our baby. I want to treasure this precious time I can have with Koa.

Talking about my passion for design, I have already started a project, which I always wished I had the time to do it. This could possibly set my next direction professionally. I'm working on an ADU, Accessory Dwelling Unit. It's a small detached house adjacent to your primary house. Our house doesn't have enough rooms for guests but we have a big lot. I'm envisioning a tea-house-like, a little modern Japanese house that has the feel of a modern Ryokan. The house sits within our California indigenous nature, where it can provide calmness, relaxation, and focus in your life. It has the best of both to showcase architecture and industrial design. I haven't been this excited about doing design for a long time and and motivated to do spend my nightly hours after Koa goes to bed. Not sure we will ever be able to build it, maybe it will end up being another dream project. But hopefully in the close future, we will find the time and money to invest in this little house.

Greetings in Japanese

コアくんが３月に一歳になりました。私たち家族は延期していたデンマークへの旅行をやっと実現させることができました。幸い義理の母だけは１１月に会えたものの、ほとんどの家族はコアくんに会えることなく一年が過ぎてしまいました。毎回家族の一人一人に会わせるたびに涙がうるっとするほど、どれだけこの日をお互い思い描いていたことか。

デンマークではほぼ国民全体がワクチン接種者ですが、マスクをする習慣がなく、どちらかというとハードイミュニティー押しでコロナの感染率が高く、私たち家族も滞在中にコロナに感染してしまいました。一番心配であったコアくんは２日ばかりでケロッと良くなり、一番苦労したの大人たちでした。久々の病気は結構辛かったです。良かったことといえば、滞在期間か延ばしたおかげで、家族ととても濃厚な時間が過ごせたことです。ロスに帰ってきてからは、スーパーイミューンであることを利用して、美術館、動物園、グローサリーショッピングと今までできなかったことをめいいっぱいしています。普通に過ごせることがどれだけ幸せなことかと日々実感しています。

話は変わりますが、デンマークへ行く直前、フルタイムの仕事を辞任しました。３年間働かせていただきましたが、そろそろ本当にやりたいことは何かと、見つめ直す時期なのではないかと思い、又、コアくんともっと一緒にいたいと思い、思い切ってこの決断に至りました。本文には色々と書きましたが、現在家のデザインをしております。自分が今までやりたかったことと向き合いながら、毎日充実した日々を過ごしているような気がします （相変わらず子育てはキツいですが。笑）このお家プロジェクトに関してはまたそのうち詳しくお話しできるといいなと思います。