After a two-year long self-induced exile from writing, I am returning to blogging with "Lightly Fried Noodles". The jump start? Our first ever family vacation to Japan next week! And I should be honest, this very year I have just started to wrestle with the realization that I am probably not as interesting or unique as I used to think I was. That is not to deny moments of exhilaration and discovery, Heavens no! But there is no doubt: I will certainly remember 2017 as my entry into mid-life, and just maybe that is a backdrop to writing that is worth preserving and exploring. "Lightly Fried" is a title that seems to capture my sense of hesitation just right.
"Aki's Instant Noodles" was my very first blog, which lasted for two years starting in 2010. I had been married for ten years. My daughters were only six and four years old. Looking back, I feel like all those early entries were written with irrepressible joy and gratitude. I wrote about memories of my youth. I sought to be observational and insightful about the world around me. And most of all, I tried desperately to record my adoring memories of Midori's and Ayumi's young childhood. "Instant Noodles" came to die as Katie struggled with schizophrenia, first in 2012 and then again in 2015. The blog died not only because of my loss of joy, but also because I was not (and still am not) capable of honest writing while in the midst of family turmoil.
And a side note: "Aki's Long Life Noodles" is a place where I have stored all of the opinion articles that I have ever published. Mostly about education. Mostly in the The Oregonian. Seeing my thoughts and words published in our local newspapers are some of the most exhilarating moments of my life. I have had to stop broadcasting my opinions now that I have become an assistant principal with less room to take professional risks.
Like "Instant Noodles", "Lightly Fried" is open to anyone, but really written for a singular audience: my daughters.
