It's the Little Things in Life...

In August of 2010, my sister, brother and two cousins visited me in Japan. I had been in Japan for a very short time at that point-- just a few days shy of the one month mark. They were here for about three weeks, and during the last few days, they stayed in Amagasaki. Their last morning in town, I had to leave to work before they left for the airport. So, I gave my sister my spare key, in order for her to lock up as she left. I left the apartment before they did.

When I came home that evening, I found post-it notes sprinkled and posted around my room. My sister, brother and cousins had left little thank you messages for me to find-- some funny ones, some sweet ones, and some ridiculous ones, of course. I found most of them right away, because they were conspicuously placed. However, in the following days, weeks, and even months, I discovered the strategically placed notes that were hidden in my apartment. One of my favorite finds was a note from my sister that I found while cooking. My predecessor had left me two giant Costco bottles of olive oil, so it took me a few months to get through the first one. When I finished that first bottle, I reached into the cupboard for the second one. I was delighted to find that it was decorated with a post-it note from my sister.

Today, tired and slightly discouraged with my Japanese studies, I decided to push my Japanese books aside and reach for a more interesting read instead. I am currently reading a book that my friend gave me in 2009 for my birthday. It has been a slow, but enjoyable process, of finally reading all those books that I had to put aside in college.

As I skimmed through the last section of the book -- curious about the number of pages left to read-- I noticed a bright orange square on one of the pages. The bright square turned out to be this post-it note:

For those of you who may not know, Rudy is my brother. And my brother wrote this note a year and a half ago on September 1st, chose a book from my shelf, and stuck the note on one of the pages. I had no idea. Little brother, I'm sorry it has taken me so long to find your note, but I'm glad that it took me this long to find it, because it truly, truly made my day. I love you, too.

It's the little things in life...