MOM'S BEST AND HAPPIEST TIME

From Oct. 19 to 24, my siblings Pete, Paul, Penny and I— together with our mom — were in Fukuoka, Japan.

- WITH PAT-P

Mom and I were in Fukuoka, Japan. The vacation was years in the planning because it took a while to convince Mom to brave the airport chaos and get on a plane once again. It was our first trip abroad together since the global COVID lockdown in March 2020.

Since then, Mom has refused to travel abroad because of all the requirements and the fear of contracting the COVID-19 virus. Being a senior citizen, she is quite vulnerable. Our persistence finally paid off when she agreed to the trip a few months ago. Her only request was that it be a leisure trip with no schedule to keep. She just wanted to hang out with her four children, and this was, of course, fine with us.

We decided to return to Fukuoka (which we last visited in February 2018) because it is quieter and more laid-back compared to Tokyo and Osaka. Penny's in-laws also happen to have an apartment there that they generously let us use for our visit. It was like we were kids again, all under one roof, but this time, it was our turn to serve Mom.

We arrived in Fukuoka late Saturday afternoon, so we basically just unpacked our things in the apartment and went to the neighborhood grocery store to buy food and supplies for our stay. On the way back, we bought chicken karaage from a popular stall for dinner and salad and rice to go with it. By 9 p.m., we called it a night since we were all tired, having woken up before dawn that day to make it to our 9:50 a.m. PAL flight.

The next day, Sunday, we went to Canal City mall for the tender Ikinari steak, which was melt-in-your-mouth perfection that we all enjoyed. To burn the calories we had "collected" from lunch, we explored the mall. While Mom and I visited the shops that sold cute trinkets and clothes, my brothers and Penny spent their time in the Bandai Namco toy store.