Spring is coming!

We know that spring is here by counting the number of people wearing masks, surgical masks, that is. It's because cedar pollen has started to fill the air, causing much discomfort and hay fever to the susceptible, and that includes Mommy D and me -- but mine is worse.

For the past few days, our noses have been runny and our eyes itchy, and the discomfort is sometimes just unbearable. We haven't finished this many boxes of tissue for a long time. We just console ourselves with the fact that we're counting our days here in Japan. When we return home to the Philippines, there won't be any of these spring allergies, for the simple reason that there isn't any spring there -- just the wet and dry seasons.

I started to have this allergy about 2 or 3 years ago when I was still a researcher at the University of Tsukuba, and that was after more than 6 or 7 years here in Japan. By the time we return home early next year, I would have completed 10 years in this country, and that's quite a long time, isn't it? Ironically, I've been to more places here than in my own country.

Theo isn't at all bothered by the cedar pollen. He had a runny nose once, but that was just for a few hours, and it wasn't all that bad either. He'll surely leave this country without having to go through it ever in his life, assuming that he won't leave the Philippines when he's old enough and go to a temperate country.

In the photos below, you can see him no longer wearing his thick winter jacket. That's because, finally, it has started to become warm. Next month, the sakuras will bloom again, signifying the endless cycle of life.