an act of kindness

I just thought I would share this really sweet act of kindness that i was the recipient of the other day.

I needed to get my hair cut and knew that Sunday is the day that Shiho works at this hair salon on the top floor of the store by the train station. It's not a fancy salon- in fact, it reminds me of Hair Cutters where I go when in NC for a $10 hair cut. Here in Osaka, the same kind of place offers a $20 no frill hair cut. But the best thing about this particular salon is Shiho... an English speaking hair dresser... so... up to the 5th floor I went.

When I arrived, I noticed her picture wasn't on the board of those working but.. i pulled out my little card with her name on it and asked if she was available. They looked at the card, said something in Japanese and soon, there were four people gathered around. One guy went running one way and another went dashing the other direction. I had NO idea what was going on. A minute later, one of the guys returned with a small note card. It was a note from Shiho telling me that she has gone to a different salon and was sorry she wasn't there for me and how she was sad that she didn't get a chance to say goodbye.

One of the workers asked if I still wanted to get my hair cut. I did. I was then escorted to the waiting chair and as i sat looking through a book trying to figure out how I was going to explain how to cut my hair, one of the guys came and showed me a book that had a picture of how I like my hair cut, circled with my name on it. Shiho had prepared that for them just in case I ever showed up! (I can only imagine how she explained this weird American lady who likes her hair cut really short!) I was so touched by her thoughtfulness and special care. I had to laugh though when I considered that it has been several months since i was last there... I had no way of knowing how long she was gone and how long her note and this book with my hair cut circled had been waiting for me... and how many times the workers may have wondered if someone was me?

There are so many days when one little thing can make a difference- and this was certainly one of them! Thanks, Shiho. I wish I knew how to tell you how much your thoughtfulness meant!

August- a quick recap

August seemed to come quickly. Here's Andrew, with a bunch of his buddies, on his last night in NC. This is such a special group of friends....

Jeph, Andrew and I then headed up to Boston where we got Andrew settled into his dorm. He'll be an RA again and is looking forward to his third year at Gordon!

Once we got Andrew all settled, it was time to hang out with Amberly. While we were there, she was packing up and getting ready to move from Cambridge to downtown Boston. We had a great time!

Here we are at a Revolution soccer game!

Here's Jeph and Ambie outside of what is now her old apartment in Cambridge And here she is in front of her new apartment with roommies Laura and Sonya!

Amberly showing off her new sapphire earrings- a gift from Andrew and J's trip to Thailand!

And because, sometimes you really do have to go where...

(Cheers is a few blocks from A's new apartment!)

Jeph and I (Karen) then flew out of Boston and headed back to Osaka where we are back to work, teaching and counseling at Osaka International School. These past few weeks have been crazy.. we haven't figured out why exactly, but it feels like school has been back in session for months. Summer break feels like another lifetime ago, but... we are excited about the year ahead and in the words of our good friend, Mark- "it's all good" and indeed it is.