Today is my sister Janice's birthday.
She is the sister with whom I would go up on our Ojana house rooftop--it doesn't snow in Okinawa, so they're flat--and we sat up there and played the ukulele and guitar and sang for hours.
"Long, long ago in a far away place Rough rugged timbers were raised to the sky... It only takes a spark to get a fire going...For those tears I died."
Janice is the one who was with me...I just realized she was with me when I had my first "grand mal" epileptic seizures when I was 14 in that Ojana house, and
She was in the Furugen house when I had convulsions and Mommy told me I needed to be regular in taking my medicine FOR THE SAKE OF EVERYONE AROUND ME, since I was unconscious and completely unaware of what was going on, but I scared everyone else.
Janice was sleeping next to me on the bed here 3 years ago to witness another unpleasant episode.
She insisted I set the alarm on my cell for taking my medicine.
I got tired of hearing the alarm (it goes off three times a day) and I'd shut it off but realized I had seizures in the night in Iwatsuki--Kinya told me to go back to sleep and lay down next to me then--and again here.
I thought I didn't want the alarms, but I told my husband and son to expect their sounds again!
Oh--after seizures, when I don't feel well, Kinya brings food to bed for me. For this year's Father's Day card, I drew the meal tray and wrote: "Thank You For Everything." I couldn't think of anything better to sketch!
Wait...this was supposed to be a post for Janice's birthday. How did it end up being about Kinya?
