A Happy New Year
Pondering family as a new year commences
How was your New Year’s? I hope it was good. My family doesn’t really celebrate New Years because my mom usually works a big New Year's Day, so the house usually lights out by 9pm. This year I drove back down to Santa Monica for the holidays to spend the time with my family.
This New Year’s Day, my mom, my grandparents, and I travelled about 45 minutes to East LA to Evergreen Cemetery where my grandpa’s family is buried. My grandparents have had a tradition of going to visit them every New Year’s and since my mom didn’t have to work we all went to go visit.
The pictures that feature grass are from when I went in 2019. I was doing a service project where I volunteered at a nearby elementary school for the month of January. I found out that the cemetery was a few blocks away so I decided to pay my relatives a visit.
It is weird visiting relatives who have passed that you have never had an interaction with. I felt disconnected to them, yet strongly connected. I don’t know much about them, but I do know that my grandfather’s dad was a minister for their Japanese religion, Perfect Liberty, and that is why my grandpa came over to the United States.
These pictures are from this month, featuring my grandpa “Jiji,” my grandma “Baba,” and my mom. We put flowers into their cups that they have, my grandma washed the headstones, and we even poured some beer over my great-grandfather because he apparently liked to drink. I noticed my grandpa saying a prayer to himself and I wish I brought my actual camera because it seemed very beautiful. I am glad that I went with them because I’m sure it means a lot to my grandpa for us to help him out with this tradition of his.
あけましておめでとうございま
(Happy New Year)