“Something Happened In Japan”

“Something Happened In Japan,” Rockstar gravely greeted school staff on his way in to class last week. He got a response along the lines of Yes And You’re About To Learn How We Can Do All Do Our Part…

And sure enough, in the school weekly newsletter (in which we also get ways to further enrich learning at home, what books have been read/ discussed so we can work them into conversations etc):

“The devastation wrought by the earthquake and tsunami, followed by the hardships caused by disruptions to essential services and the concerns over damage to nuclear power facilities have been topics of conversation amongst many of the children…..

….. We try to foster a sense of caring and responsibility for others in our children…..”

(See Rockstar, there’s our chance to help. It’s only right to give some of what we have, when we are blessed with so much more)

“The amount is not important, it is the thought that counts.”

(Excellent. So I won’t feel even a bit self-conscious over the “odd” figure decided by Rockstar with his ang pow (lai see) money. Because he’s probably going to audit my cheque. And now they’ve started alphabets in school I’m getting queried over the bedtime literature – no more ad libbing or ending stories early.

“Mum. Are you talking to me?” when I get preachy over Aesop’s fables… He might make me explain why the cheque is made out to “World Vision Hong Kong” and why there’s “Japan Earthquake Disaster Relief Fund” on the envelope. Why, why, why.)

And there he is, horning in on the photo op with some random plane he happened to be flying around the apartment, as I continue to dig up red items of clothing – in addition to the donation, the kids are all going to school in red and white (Japan’s national colors) on Thursday.

Rockstar had been noticing Prime Minister Naoto Kan on CNBC via interpreter, as well as the various tragic reports and updates on the channel throughout the last week, with footage of people in shelters, and at one point the mention of severe water rationing resulting in just “two pumps per person.”

Which then led to a conversation about why water is no longer coming out of taps (we also took the top off the toilet flush tank for good measure to observe how water would flow back into the tank after flushing and no come on, do you really want to see a picture of how our toilet works) in the quake-devastated areas, and why light switches and land lines and the internet have been slow….

Often through a child’s eyes is when grownups slow down enough to count their blessings. When the lights still work. And as much clean water as we want still comes out of the taps. And the fact there are places in the world not even hit by massive earthquakes that never had these things in the first place…..