one year ago

It's hard to believe that it has already been a year since the devastating earthquake and tsunami hit the eastern coast of Tohoku. I remember that week leading up to it well. I had just a job interview that I was sure I had failed in spectacular fashion due to the cold medication I had taken...for the flu that had me knocked out for the rest of that week. I woke up on March 10th, my birthday. Not expecting much from the day except a cup of soup while curled up in bed. What I got was the news that Japan had been struck by an earthquake and tsunami. As most international news is, it took a while for the details to trickle in. The news I was getting wasn't promising. Northeaster Japan...Tohoku. Where my friends were. As I scoured the net and TV for more details, I ran through a mental list of people and started emailing, praying for quick responses. To my horror, nothing came. Keeping a vigil, surrounded by the glow of electronic screens, stuck with horror at the details that were coming. I actually remember thinking, "the mountains will protect them". I eventually found out that Akita had been spared the worst of it (I knew it was unlikely that a tsunami would hit Yokote, but a 9M earthquake...) and that the radio silence had been caused by the blackout. Slowly, as power returned, responses trickled in from Akita (the Tokyo, Gunma and Chiba peeps were able to respond pretty quickly). This only left the handful of people who were in Sendai (not comforting as this city was getting a lot of airtime) and Fukushima (even more unsettling). It took almost 2 sleepless weeks of trying and me remembering that cellphone companies had emergency boards before I was able to track down everyone. It turns out, the last one elusive person had been evacuated and couldn't get to her computer. And now, as this dreaded anniversary approaches, the TV screens are once again filled with images and stories from that day. I thought that this would be a quick post, but some posts take over and write themselves. As I was writing, I realized that I think this is the first time I've actually typed all of this out. Maybe I couldn't before. I can't help but wonder at how much that day has filled my thoughts and actions so often this past year. And so, I go to bed tonight with a heavy heart and dreading what my birthday will bring this year(definately more pessimistic than optimistic). Ganbanppe Tohoku!