どもども。
Hello there!
皆様、いかがお過ごしでしょうか？
How's everthing going in your life?
さて、タイトルの通りなのですが、わたくし、1月23日から2月22日まで一人で日本に一時帰国してきました。
As the title says, I was in Japan alone from Jan.23rd to Feb. 22nd.
前回の体外受精シリーズ、The Fifth Stepを読んでいただいたら分かるのですが、クリスマス前にミネソタで初めての胚移植を行い、クリスマス直後にその判定が陰性だという事が分かりました。
In the last IVF series, The Fifth Step, I wrote that Andy and I did our 1st transfer in MN a week before Christmas and then found out that the result was negative 2 days after Christmas.
そして、その1か月後にはHit-chanは日本に渡ったので、今回の帰国は短い時間で決断＆準備をしました。
Then, in a month from the result, I was in Japan, which means that Andy and I made up our minds and got ready for the plan in such a short time.
もちろん、日本に行くのは家族3人で行けるのが理想ではありますが、今回は金銭面＆仕事＆学校などの事情を考慮した上で、Hit-chanが一人で帰る事になりました。
Needless to say, we wanted to go to Japan with 3 of us together ideally, but all the matters of financial, work and school made us conclude that it's the best way that I traveled alone.
不妊治療が目的なので、1ヶ月ほどの滞在になるのですが、その間Andyっちは仕事、めいの学校の送り迎え＆家でのお世話、その他の家事を全て一人でしなければいけません。
The main purpose of this trip was IVF treatment, of course, which means that I needed to stay in Japan for a month, so while I was away, Andy had to manage everything, his full-time job, May-chan's drop-offs and pick-ups and all other house chores, on his own.
Hit-chanの方は10年ぶりの一人での帰国で、治療はあるものの、それ以外は好き勝手に過ごせば良いだけなのでお気楽なものです。
Even though I had to go through another egg transfer in Japan, but it was only a couple of visits to the clinic, so other than that, all I needed to do was spending a great time with my family and friends. It was actually the first trip by myself in the last 10 years.
ただ、めいが生まれてから1ヶ月も離れて過ごすのは初めてなので、その事でめいとHit-chan自身がどういう気持ちになるのかは未知の領域ではあります。
It was also the first time for May-chan and me to stay away from each other for 1 month since May-chan was born, so I had no idea how we would feel in the first experience ever.
一応、1ヶ月という長さの感覚がまだイマイチ分かっていないめいの為に、日めくりカレンダーも作りました。
I actually handmade this 1 month calendar so that May-chan could see how many more days left untill Mommy came home.
そんなこんなで帰国を決めてから出発の日まであっという間に過ぎて、実感がわかないままに当日を迎えました。
Anyways, this is how we decided about the trip. Until the departure day, we were very busy getting things ready and reached the big day without feeling it real.
出発当日。フライトは10時40分だったので、3時間前には空港に到着するように、朝7時くらいに家を出ました。
（冬のミネソタは、御覧の通り、朝7時時点ではまだ外は暗いです。）
On the depature day, my flight was at 10:40am, so we left our house around 7am so that we could arrive at the airport 3 hours before the flight.
(As you can see this in the pic above, it's still dark outside around 7am in MN winter.)
前日にオンラインでチェックインしておいたので、空港では預入荷物のラベルをセルフで印刷＆取り付けて、カウンターで預けるだけで済みました。
I had already checked in the flgiht online the night before, so all I needed to do at the airprt was that I printed out luggage labels at a kiosk and dropped them off at the counter.
前回の帰国までの印象では、ミネソタから出国する時のセキュリティの列がいつも長くて、そこで結構時間が取られる感じだったんですが、今回２つあるセキュリティのうち1つは待ち時間10分以内、もう1つは5分以内とめちゃくちゃ短かったです。
As far as I remember, in the couple of previous trips to Japan, the airport secutity gates were very busy and we had to wait in a long queue, which took a lot of time. Compared to that, the waiting time on one gate this time said "Less than 10 mins" and the other gate said "Less than 5 mins", which was super nice.
はぁ～。ついに離れる時間が来ました。
Phew...It's time to say goodbye.
めいはいつもより早く起きた事もあってなのか、いつもと違う雰囲気からなのか、「めいちゃん、もう皆とお家へ帰る～。」と言っていたと思えば、「めいちゃんも飛行機乗って日本に行く～。」と言ったり、やっぱりマミーと離れる事に緊張感を覚えていたのかもしれません。
Maybe because she woke up earlier that morning or sensed something unusual, she was randomly saying, "May-chan will go home with you all." one time and "May-chan will get on the plane and go to Japan too!" the other time. She might be getting nervous being away from Mommy.
それでも、2回目の記念撮影には素敵な笑顔を見せてくれました。
The 2nd family picture! She finally showed her smile.
最後の最後でHit-chanがセキュリティのゲートの方に入って行く時は、やっぱり少し怒り泣き？してました。
Still, Andy told me later that she was upset and crying when I was going through the security gate and disappearing from her sight.
出国手続き＆セキュリティも無事通り抜け、後は出発ゲートに行って待つのみ。
I luckily and quickly went through both the immigration and security gatesand then all I needed to do was waiting until the boarding time.
行動的な人なら、この待ち時間に色んなお店を見てまわるのかもしれませんが、Hit-chanは必要最低限の物を手に入れひたすら出国ゲート前で時間を潰しました。
If you're an active person unlike me, you would enjoy walking around the terminal and checking various shops there, but I was just sitting and playing with my laptop at the gate after I purchased a couple of things like a bottle of water and a cup of coffee.
まぁ、そんなこんなで10年ぶりになる一人での帰国。
Yeah, this is how I started my first alone trip to Japan in the last decade.
どんな旅になるのでしょう～？
How would it turn out?
今日の所はこの辺で～。読んで下さってありがとうございました！
Okay, this is all for today. Thank you for reading again!!!
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