The Joyful Father

Dread covered the Japanese man’s face, it said all that needed to be said which was, “I screwed up.” At which point I found myself getting into his car thinking there’s little chance I would ever trust someone so willingly in America.

Here I was in a car with an English speaking Japanese man contemplating my situation. On one hand I could be snowboarding for three whole days with my husband and friends, on the other I could be at home continuing my recovery from my recent rhinoplasty.  Instead I joined them on a ski and snowboard trip for three days in the Japanese Alps at a resort called Shiga Kogen. It was decided that snowboarding was not an option for me as previously thought because I could not wear goggles over my face as it caused more pain and pressure on my nose.  This was not an easy situation for me to swallow, be it pride, anxiety of needing to do something, or mere desire to be with the one I love as much as possible, I stayed behind as others joyfully skied down the snow covered mountains; thus, I entertained myself in rural Japan for 3 days.

What to do? Snow monkeys. I strongly dislike monkeys. So be it, I will see them.  The people at the front desk told me to take a particular bus at the following times to get there and then they gave me a bus schedule which was in Japanese… This should be easy.

I walked down to the supposed bus stop and asked the man helping park cars which side of the street I should stand on as there were two signs.  He asked me where I was going and directed me to a different bus at a different location and time.  I returned to the hotel lobby to wait.

Just to double check I asked a different person at the front desk and they told me that I should take the bus someone had previously told me to take… At this rate it would take me 3 days just to get forty minutes down the mountain. Okay, I’ll wait with some cookies and tea. 

Time passed.

I saw the nice Japanese man on my way back down to the bus.

“What’s up?”  he asked.

“I asked the front desk and they are certain I should take this bus.”

“Huh, come with me.” We walked back towards the hotel, away from the bus stop.  Can it be this hard?

He stopped at the bus stop at the very front of the hotel, he looked worried and I saw a bus drive away from the other stop; we walked back to the first bus stop.  He talked with a co-worker, and came jogging back to me, pointing to the car.

At first he looked devastated that he had made me miss my bus twice. He quickly drove the tiny stick-shift box all the way down to the bus station, it’s amazing boxes can drive that fast. The bus depot was fifteen minutes away; of course I couldn’t help starting a little conversation:

“Do you ski?”

“Yeah, I like to ski. Do you?”

He asked me a couple of general questions and finally I asked, “Do you have family?”

The smile stretched across his face, “Yes, my wife,” and the smile that couldn’t get any bigger did, “and my son. His birthday was last month.” 

“Oh, how old is he?”

For a moment he stuttered in excitement, “Last month he was born!”

“WOW, that’s exciting! Congratulations!”

“Thank you! I’m so excited! I’m a DAD!” His smile was glowing with joy, “I’m a dad!”

What an experience to see the joy on this man’s face, and it was worth the runaround. If every child could see these moments of joy on their parents’ faces when they are born I think the world would be a different place.  It was God’s gift of the day to me to see that father’s joy.

The joyful father apologized for making me miss my bus, and I reassured him that everything was fine and I was grateful to have a ride to the bus stop.  He was so kind, and I was so happy to meet him, though I think he was lacking a little sleep.