DaBomb - DaCastle - DaDecision to Come Home

Hiroshima the 'A' blasted city. Was it really worth the detour, well in all heaviness sadness and reality-ness, yess!
It certainly isn't the happiest city though the A3 Wagyu beef we had was amazing and the kids had a memorable five course kids menu.
We went for the museum and amazed by what the A Bomb actually is we carried on to the part where stories of the victim is shown. Our religious roots have taken us to the Jerusalem Yad Vashem museum and somehow the atmosphere of this place reminded me of the feelings I had being there.
The kids each one on his own level went through this museum with interest and amazing quietness, much to the contrary of every other activity since months.
I think in their own way they have integrated what is shown here as something horrible.
We were told by an in utero survivor  that the Nagasaki bombing carried out after Hiroshima was done for testing purposes in order to collect and confirm data of damage done by the first A blast, will truth ever be known?!

Nevertheless sleek lines are to be seen here as anywhere in Japan.

We decided to avoid a long train ride and stopped in Himeji, a city holding a castle, the biggest wooden construction in the world. Unfortunately this one was in restoration and we saw little of its outer beauty, the inside being fairly boring!

We are tired, not only physically but mentally, tired of being on top of each other with no space to let even your thoughts roam free, tired of living out of a luggage, tired of constant restaurant food, tired of planning, tired of lack of settlement. So the obvious thing to do is to go home.
After two hundred ninety three days of traveling we decided to skip a week and come home.
Tokyo will be our last four days destination before a loooooooooooong flight.
We got here this noon and were to lazy to even get out of the hotel.
Val was going to plan what to do tomorrow but that kind of vanished with the day. Again tired of reading up and planning and preparing.
Are we complaining, not at all, this is merely the way things are.
The kids are super excited at getting home, Val is over the moon, I am happy yet have some mixed feelings.
I suppose the things that makes it easier is the current weather in Belgiumland.

Coming home from the journey we have just had brings with it excitement, excitement of some projects we have together and individually. Warmth at the idea of seeing back friends and family.
Ease at being in a familiar place and getting back to some old and instore some new habits.
I need to emphasize that the need of being with people you've known for a while and you trust is important.
And again space, Julian's space, Matthew's space, Val's space and My space.

I guess the importance of being alone is as important as being well accompanied.

This should be one of my last blog entries and I probably need to take some time to process and integrate all the movements of the last year.

This has been an amazing journey and one of the best decisions I have taken in my life, and as I have said many a time before, we were taken care of all the way.
I can't help but think of the poem/story I have read many a times before and though this one is portrayed with The Lord as the leading entity you can replace that with whatever you want. I usually find Go(o)d an excelent alternative; on a personal level I believe in 'Positive Energy' !

One night I dreamed I was walking along the beach with the Lord.
Many scenes from my life flashed across the sky.
In each scene I noticed footprints in the sand.
Sometimes there were two sets of footprints,
other times there was one only.
This bothered me because I noticed that during the low periods of my life,
when I was suffering from anguish,
sorrow or defeat,
I could see only one set of footprints,
so I said to the Lord,
“ You promised me Lord,
that if I followed you,
you would walk with me always.
But I have noticed that during the most trying periods of my life
there has only been one set of footprints in the sand.
Why, when I needed you most, have you not been there for me?”
The Lord replied,
“ The years when you have seen only one set of footprints,
my child, is when I carried you.”

--Author Mary Stevenson--

I believe that if you believe, we can achieve anything. (HR)