Just Before The Birth Again- Japan- Pregnant- U... Page

Tomorrow, I will walk to the 7-Eleven ( konbini ) for the last time as a mother of one. I will buy the tonkotsu ramen in a cup that I am not supposed to crave. I will buy a kakigori (shaved ice) because the heat is biblical. I will stand in the fluorescent light, my belly brushing against the magazine rack, and I will feel utterly anonymous and utterly seen at the same time.

If you are reading this from a coffee shop in London, or a living room in New York, or a similar apartment in Osaka—take a breath. The waiting is the labor, too. The waiting is the work. Just before the birth again- Japan- Pregnant- U...

The first time, everything was a checklist. Pack the bag. Install the car seat (which, in Tokyo, means wrestling a bassinet onto a bicycle). Learn the Japanese words for epidural ( takumaigai zentai ma sui —a mouthful of consonants when you are in transition). The first birth was a sprint toward the unknown, fueled by anxiety and the naïve bravery of a beginner. Tomorrow, I will walk to the 7-Eleven (

— A very pregnant mother in Tokyo.

This is my second pregnancy in Japan. You would think the second time is easier. You would be wrong. It is not harder, necessarily. It is deeper . I will stand in the fluorescent light, my