Have I Ever Properly Introduced You to Yuki?

Recently, I was at one of Yuki’s parties again. One of the guests took a photo of the two of us together. Later, I thought: maybe it would be nice to share that photo here. Maybe you’d enjoy getting to see a little bit of Yuki! Especially since I write about her here quite often.

This was a 4th of July party. Yuki grew up in California from a young age, and that’s why she still celebrates it. Some of the people who come to her parties are American too, but most are not. For them, the 4th of July doesn’t have much personal meaning. It’s simply a nice occasion to get together, have a barbecue, and eat outside.  

For this occasion, Yuki organizes a potluck every single year. I brought a fruit salad. (One of my specialties. 😉)

Yuki’s parties are usually quite large. She’s kind of the person who brings the whole neighborhood together. You know the saying, “Better a good neighbor than a distant friend”? Well, Yuki doesn’t just have one good neighbor—she has a whole lot of friends in the neighborhood! How did she manage to make so many friends? She has a little trick for that…

My very first blog post was actually about Yuki. During a phone call, she told me that her mother had passed away. I was also going through my own period of grief and healing at the time, so I felt I could understand, at least a little, what Yuki was going through. We talked about grief, memories, and—perhaps unexpectedly—Sicilian food as well. When we hung up, she said something that, for me, became the essence of that entire blog post.

Shortly after that phone call, it was Easter. I wanted to send Yuki my Easter wishes, but you can hardly wish someone who is grieving a “Happy Easter.” Here’s what I did…

So, this is Yuki! 

Do you feel like you’ve gotten to know her a little bit?

Top photo: Gary Davies