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Monday, September 21, 2020

Respect for the Aged Day and Morning Glories

The third Monday of September is Respect for the Aged Day, 
a nationwide celebration to the elderly for their countless contributions 
 to family, society, and country.    


Both parents and parents-in-law of mine are not in this world 
but I have an uncle in his late 80s.  
The photo below is the lobby of the building he lives with his wife.  
Established in the bubble economy time (late 1980s), the assisted-living condo 
looks like a gorgeous resort hotel. 
The slow-moving residents live independently and are taken care when in need. 
Because of the aftereffect of stroke in this spring, my uncle is taken care in the nursery section.
I haven't seen him for a while due to the corona crisis.


Ageing is not deterioration but natural progression. 
"You’re only as old as you feel."   
 I'd like to enjoy my age to liberate oneself and to discover what really brings joy and serenity.  
I also would like to be green and perky like the plant above, but not in a pot,
keeping it in mind that the beauty of life is made up of light and shadow.

 

Morning glory, "Asa-gawo" meaning "morning face" in Japanese, blooms at sunrise and wilts around noon.
One day flower can be enjoyed only TODAY.


They perform best in the full sunlight.



Morning glories in the pots have flowered one after another every morning in my garden
from July and will keep flowering for a while.


The ones as the green curtains to shield from sunlight on the west side of my house, 
however, were in the miserable condition when the rainy season ended.


But soon they regained strength and thrived.
They are flowering one by one still now.

Left; outside the window
Right; the green curtain seen through “sudare” blind right outside the window,
both to shield openings of the house from sunlight. 

The big event of F and Y during their too short summer holiday was 
ballet recital with audience of only families. 
The boy Y living nearby could enjoy a little longer break full of colorful events with M.
The school graders went back to school life in the 38C life-threatening heat of August, 
and of the record hottest September.

The bullet photos are from the last year.
Annual poster contest to raise public awareness about well-being of deer.
Y wrote "Watch over tenderly!"


Suddenly air turned to be fresh and crisp last week after the long, long sizzling days.
Time for me to resume travelling and blogging.

Linked to Mosaic Monday

22 comments:

  1. The weather has improved here too and it felt great to get out yesterday for a hike. Love your photos of the kids and hearing about their end of summer activities. I live in a over 55 community so there are lots of old people here...even older than me! heehee! Enjoy your day!

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  2. Nice to see you back, stardust, with all your insights and photos! It is wonderful and unique that Japan celebrates Respect for the Aged Day unlike few other countries in our world. It would be even more incredible if we could remain at the green stage as we age and not live only in one pot. Every stage has its worries but I agree there is a point we reach, if we are lucky, that feels quite liberating!

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  3. Hola Yoko. Gusta volver a verte aquí amiga.
    Tampoco viven mis padres ni mis suegro. Pero si tengo un tio con 103 años y está bien un poco mal para andar pero bien. Me gustan la personas de edad, estar con ellas. Paco y yo somos voluntarios de una residencia de mayores y colaboramos en ella.
    Preciosas todas tus flores. yY las fotos de tus nietos con sus dibujos
    Te deseo una buena semana. Cuídate
    Un abrazo.

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  4. Hello, lovely images and flowers. It seems like respect your elders day should be every day. Take care, enjoy your day! Wishing you a happy week!

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  5. I find your attitude to be good with age, I enjoy every moment.
    How beautiful your post with all the enchanting flower photos and the ballet mosaic of the child.
    Take care!Have a nice week, greeting Elke

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  6. Thank you for showing your beautiful morning glories Yoko - I only grew blue ones this year, and sowed the seeds rather late into the season, but they are always a delight to see when they flower.
    It is lovely to have you back with us once again.
    I have four neighbours who are all just short of being 100 years old - they still maintain large houses and gardens, and one of them even mows all of his lawns himself, every week - perhaps that is their secret.

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  7. Lovely post !!!
    We need a day like yours to honor the elder ones....
    the pictures are beautiful and your collage perfect !
    Have a nice day !
    Anna

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  8. Yoko - welcome back to Mosaic Monday! As you may know, our son is living with us at the moment. One of his dreams is to visit Japan, and we talked at length last week about Japanese culture. I mentioned facts that I have learned from your blog and others, and one of them is about the respect for the elderly. How interesting that your post should be about that this week. Is it also a coincidence that my post this week is about "going to seed", or aging?

    Your photos are lovely, as always, and I especially enjoyed the mosaic with your grandchildren!

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  9. I am sending a Happy Day of Respect greeting to your uncle and his wife. The older generation should be respected and appreciated everywhere. They live in a beautiful residence. Your grandchildren are lovely. I think I will try to grow morning glories next summer, I love the colours of the flowers and the shape of the leaves.

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  10. What a beautiful blog you have! (I love the Dragonflies song on one of your older posts)
    The Morning glories are lovely with so many different colors, and the unique art display of the children photos, I will have to try this with some of my pictures :)

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  11. Hi, Yoko,
    It’s great to hear from you again. It is all true what you say about ageing and attitude to this. I would also like to liberate myself and to be green and perky – wonderfully put, bravo! Unfortunately, physical state sometimes disagrees with feeling green and we have to bring them to a harmonious tune. I also thought it wise to go through medical check-ups in summer. We will survive, my dear friend, enjoying life not in a pot:)) I’d like to share the main recent news with you: we met our little grandson, they are on a visit with us. He is a miracle! I think you can see me writing about him smiling from ear to ear. Thank you, Yoko.
    Keep safe and take care.
    Irina

    PS. Oh, thanks for a new word -“sudare” blind.

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  12. Thank you, Yoko, for your comment on my blog regarding the mulberry tree. It's very interesting that the young leaves are so different from the older mature leaves. I will have to watch that little tree next year to see if any mulberries appear!

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  13. Dear Yoko!

    Greetings to your uncle and his wife. The house they currently live in is exclusive and it is very good that the elderly live in perfect conditions. All your photos are always perfect. I am delighted with the series of photos of morning glory flowers (Convolvulus)
    Blessed week.
    Hugs and greetings:)

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  14. From what I read, people from the East respect and care the elderly.
    Unfortunately, this does not happen all over the world and often, the elderly are forgotten and not respected.
    How beautiful are the morning glory, great photos!
    A big hug

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  15. the beauty of east is that people here still respect and care as mentioned in comment above and it is true from where i see

    i had care and respect for elderly even as little girl dear Yoko ,i would go in their remote houses and clean for them and bring them water for bucket ,all elderly of my native town were my friends and i think these are precious memories of my life

    your flowers are so beautiful :))) i can't help to love blue more though as it is my favorite :)
    Oh reflection image look like a master piece here ,what a marvelous capture !!!i find such combination so fascinating always
    your uncle lives in such a serene lovely place ,i hope you can see him soon

    recital event sounds great ,loved these cute faces :)
    more shower of blessings to you and your family !

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  16. The place where your uncle lives is very beautiful;
    I hope you can visit it soon;
    The postcard paintings are beautiful!
    Thank you for your visit;
    Have a good month entry;
    janicce.

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  17. Lovely photos. Here many of the elderly have been hit hard by Covid. Wishing you and yours good health at this difficult time.

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  18. Yoko, do you remember when I had morning glories growing up a trellis at a window at our Denver house (now sold)? They were planted in the ground and the vines went everywhere, but I did enjoy their prolific blooms. I like the pretty colors you have planted.The smiling faces of your grandchildren make me smile, too. Y is such a good artist! I'm glad you had a bit of cooler weather. It snowed in Breckenridge yesterday.

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  19. Me parece precioso ese día, se ve bonito donde viven. Un beso.

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  20. Your uncle lives in a beautiful building. I love the plant in the big pot looking over the huge windows. I'm sorry you are not able to visit your uncle due to Covid. I hope you can phone him and if he is not able to talk due to the stroke, at least he can hear you. Hugs and stay safe. xx

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