Happy New Year.

I know, we’re already almost done with the month but I figured it doesn’t hurt to start with that since this is my first post for the year.

I just hope this year will be better for everyone. There’s been a lot of good news recently, despite all the bad things that’s been happening, too.

Where do we start?

My parents got Covid. They showed symptoms and tested positive for the virus a couple weeks before Christmas, right when I was starting my winter break. Needless to say, it was a tough time for everyone, especially my parents. But I am happy to report that they pulled through and recovered.

Thank god.

It’s a good thing my mother is a nurse and my sister is, too. With their knowledge combined, they were able to get my parents better. Their case was considered light so they were never hospitalized. My dad recovered first but it took my mom a longer time to get healthy. Because both of them are older and have health complications, it was really scary for a while.

It was the coughing and the constant fever that was the most painful to bear, they said. The only thing they could do was to treat the symptoms and deal with the pain.

I am forever grateful that they were able to recover. They’re not completely in the clear because there have been cases of people getting sick from the virus twice. There are also after effects that linger in the body from the damage caused by the virus.

For me, it was a case of whether I should go back home or not. I wanted to, but that meant I would need to quit my job because I wouldn’t be able to come back to Japan. I’d be stuck in quarantine in both countries, actually.

Luckily, my sister talked me down. She’s such a great person. I love her calmness and her efficiency in all of this. I guess this is what comes when you’re in the thick of it, when you’re battling Covid every day at work.

But it put everything into perspective for me. As much as I love this job and the staff at my school have been wonderful, family is everything. I will drop this in a heartbeat if anybody says I need to come home.

If there’s a silver lining to all of this, that’s the key takeaway from this experience. I am more determined to be not tied to this job and the salary I’m getting.

Again, everything points to financial independence.