My mother's in town since yesterday. She's been depressed lately since my father's passing finally caught up with her. She's taking it in strides -- I'm really not worried about that. But I was a bit concerned about how she'd get along with my daughter, who can understand much of coversational Japanese but only responds in English. Kid-talk can be harder to understand (we the parents don't get it half the time!).

Turns out, there was no reason to worry. My mother is the kind of person who can make friends without requiring to employ spoken language. My daughter warmed up to her surprisingly fast, too, and they have become buddies. Their mix of Japanese and English is hilarious to listen to.

That social finess is something I don't have myself, but I certainly have a lot of other things that are Mom's. How forgetful I am, for example. ;-) Every time I see her I feel like I understand myself better, why I am the way I am. My Mom is a really cool person, and so was Dad. So that's gotta make me pretty cool, too.

I was very lucky. :-)