Need to stop taking things for granted.

I had lunch with my friend Anh two hours ago and on the way home I thought, "Wow, she works so close and this is the first time we have lunch together." I feel so bad about neglecting my friends. We sometimes take for granted the people we care about and realize our mistake only when it's too late. We are always too busy, too busy, and rely on the "I can always see them next week" excuse. Now I don't have that, I will be leaving soon and I won't see my friend until next year, unless she takes her vacation in Japan.
I also don't spend enough time with my nephews or my parents. Of course I chit chat with them daily, but I never show them how much they mean to me. Okay, I do hug and kiss my nephews and tell them how cute they are and how much I love them, but they think I am only doing that to annoy them. Lately I've been trying to spend more quality time with my parents and I sit and chit chat with them but I realize it is only because I know I wont see them for at least a couple of months ( I am still hoping they will visit me). I feel like there isn't enough time to soak up as much of them as possible.

Getting ready for our trip to Japan

The more I stop and think about the move the more nervous I get. There are 16 more days left until my departure to Japan. I am frightened, sad and excited. I am scared because I don't know the language and because I have never lived away from home. I am sad because I am going to miss my family and friends a lot.
Things I will miss:
I will miss being called to the front house by my parents to help them settle an argument... "Doesn't Exploit mean to blow something up?" "No No No, doesn't it mean to utilize something?"
I will miss hearing about the exciting new thing Natalya learned while reviewing for her comps and how much she hates Mickey for peeing all over her house.
I will miss hanging out with Grace, Mark and Rob.
I will miss going over to Mary and Carlos's place to play games or watch B-movies while Loki rubs his face on Joe's feet and Nico hisses at Carlos.
I will even miss being woken by my nephews' pounding on my door and screaming their lungs out to let them in.

I am looking forward to meeting new people and being in a different setting. I love learning about new cultures and what better way than being engulfed by it. I don’t think I could handle this change alone, I am grateful that Joe is coming with me. I think he will get a lot out of this experience as well. He will be there to lift my spirits when I suspect a teacher might not like me or when I accidentally offended someone and feel terrible about it. And I will be there for him when life becomes a little more complicated than what expected.
Things I am looking forward to:
Learning Japanese
Learning how to cook Japanese dishes
Bonding with my students (they will bond with me if it’s the last thing they do)
Exploring the town with Joe
Traveling in the weekends or every other weekend with Joe
Getting lost with Joe and trying out my bad Japanese to get directions back to where we want to be
Taking pictures and sharing them with my friends and family on this blog