Keeping up with the Tanakas

I arrive at LAX with one bag. One large suitcase that without fail causes my mother-in-law to exclaim at its enourmous girth upon our departure from Japan and my dad to ask upon our touch down in Southern California, "that's it?" The amount of baggage when I leave the good ol' US of A? Well, now, that is something to talk about. You see, in that one suitcase are four rolled up duffle bags waiting to be filled with my treasures, waiting to bulge with excess, tip scales into the red zone, test the limits of the generous trunk space of my mother's boat and cause the first tiff between Toshi and I of the new year. So yes, people wonder, what has she got in there? Besides the Christmas presents we received, which this year included a full size umbrella (okay, I asked for it) and hobby horses (didn't ask for them, but adore them), new clothes for the four of us, English workbooks for the kids, 42 Children's story books and 24 novels for mom, here is a list of the random things I unpacked from the first suitcase: two Thomas wooden wacky tracks (they were 50 percent off!), Planet Earth DVD set, three magazines, biscotti, doll clothes, children's vitamins, omiyage chocolate, two bags of cookie mix, a framed picture of Tinkerbell in the palm of Mina's hand in from of the castle at Disneyland, Neutrogena make-up removal sheets (the Japanese ones make my skin sting!), two boxes of hot chocolate (hey, if my mom buys it for me, I am not going to turn it away!), a bag of pink and purple hair accessories for Princess Mina, hot fudge (you just can't get it in Japan), two Mickey mouse sweatshirts, a Monorail (of course it's a toy!), a new raincoat for Toshi, notecards, three shoe boxes of miscellaneous crap (spices, confetti, printer refills, medicine, Sharpies, knitting needles, taco seasoning, scented candles). Things that are cheaper in the US, things that are better in the US, things I can only get in the US and things that give me little spots of sunshine on dark days. Now you know.