I made it to 60 and here’s how the day went.
Woke in a panic at 2:30 am when I remembered that I hadn’t gotten cat food and the dishes were nearly empty. Debated whether to get up right then and drive to the 7-11 to buy some, but my eyes ached too much to pilot the car safely. Instead, listened to a Tao lecture about gratitude (which was more interesting than I anticipated) and then learned that Spotify podcasts have loud ads. Eventually fell back asleep for a bit.
At 5:55 I was showered, dressed, and driving to the 7-11. Got the last bag of “Hairball Remedy Food for Cats” along with two coffees and a slice of cake, just in case I wanted cake for breakfast. But no time for cake…at 6:45 Tod & I were out the door to Tokyo via bus, where I snapped my birthday portrait:
I have been waiting for my 60th birthday as the best excuse to celebrate at Togenuki Jizoson, a temple in Sugamo. It’s in a beautiful old neighborhood with a shopping arcade frozen in time. Although I hadn’t been there in well over a decade, it looked just as I remembered it. “Grandma’s Harajuku” was the site of the planet walk I did with our friend Katie Murphy in 2001. (She was maybe 9 then; I have heard she is now married with children.)
Why celebrate my kanreki at this temple? Well, it is well known for having healing properties. A legend from 1715 says that a woman who swallowed a needle was encouraged to swallow a bit of paper imprinted with the image of the temple’s jizo on it. The paper came out with the needle stuck into the image. So now it’s famous for taking away your pain and all the toge or thorns in your life.
At 10:00 or a little after, friends arrived at our meeting point near the station. Rob was right on time with exciting news about a future house purchase. Elizabeth and Atsunori arrived soon after, with big hugs and warm wishes. Then Tracey, Ashley, and Jo found their way to us.
We visited the temple and washed the Kannon paying attention to places where we have pains, which was pretty much everywhere for me. We all stood around and chatted, then after saying goodbye to Elizabeth and Atsunori (without getting a photo, darn it!), the rest of us enjoyed the shopping street on the way to lunch.
At 11:30 Greg and Yasu joined us at Tokiwa Shouten and we had a feast of salmon and other dishes. The food was delicious and the conversation lively.
By the time we finished lunch, the cloudy day had turned rainy. Fortunately there was an umbrella shop in the shotengai. Jo found an umbrella just like one that she’d lost a while back. I got the cutest umbrella printed with people carrying umbrellas; Tod bought a beautiful teal one that matches his eyes.
Most everyone had to return to regular life after lunch, but Jo, Ash, Tod, & I had tickets for a 15:20 bus back to Kamogawa. I wanted to spend our extra time with some stationery shopping at Ito-ya in Ginza but it was SO crowded with tourists (both Ginza in general, at the shop specifically) that I vetoed my own choice and we ended up at Loft instead. It was also crowded with tourists, but somehow less annoying. I found the most amazing thing: a five year diary that started on April 1. Now I have a five year diary; I haven’t done one of those in a very long time.
We caught the bus home and our lively lunchtime conversation continued. But at the first stop, an hour into the journey, the bus driver got out of his seat to shout “Urusai!” at us then told us off for being too loud and bothering the other passengers. Sumimasen, sumimasen.
And so my second childhood begins with a scolding. Jo framed it as a funny thing and I was grateful for that because I was a bit mortified and concerned.
When we got home, there was a lasagna ready for the oven (we planned ahead), along with a cake we bought in Tokyo, and a bottle of fizzy wine so I can make another chair for the collection. And I opened all my amazing presents.
I received an abundance of sweets (Haigh’s chocolates, cookies, more chocolate, homemade jam) and all sorts of felicitous red items from lipstick to underpants, clothing, and a tenugui cloth. Tracey and Ashley bought me a beautiful elephant-shaped bell that resonates impressively and Tracey had a mimigaki ear pick handmade for me at Togenuki Jizoson. I bought myself a necklace that incorporates my initials, as well as the five year diary and the fire horse t-shirt that I bought to kick off the kanreki in January.
By the time we finished dinner and cake and played Wordle with Jo at 7 pm, I was wiped out. Tod ran a nice hot bath where I soaked for a quarter hour. And that was it for me. My Fitbit says I was asleep at 8:41.
Couldn’t have asked for a better day to start my next 60 year zodiac cycle. Thank you to everyone who wished me well online and in person, and who contributed to the joyful day. I am full of gratitude to all of you. <3
P.S. Almost forgot to record this little superstitious detail: I always take note of the first song I sing on my birthday. This year, I was looking at some weeds as I got out of the car with the cat food and out of my mouth, unbidden, came “I Don’t Know Enough About You” from Peggy Lee:
