Eh? What‘s that? Now?

This is related to my previous entry, Penpaling. 

I wrote letters to several of my pen pals, saying, "I have to take care of my family because of that, I have had to give up many dreams."

When I write something like this, I usually receive warm responses.  They are all female in her 50s or 60s.  Many of them say things like, "Find small joys in life for yourself.  You deserve to have something that makes you happy."  Reading those words comforts me.

However, one of my pen pals in the US wrote to me, asking, "Were you okay during the Great Hanshin Earthquake?"

I thought, "Wait, that was 30 years ago. Why is she bringing it up now in her first letter?"

A quick internet search would tell anyone that the Great Hanshin Earthquake happened three decades ago.

As someone who is already exhausted from caregiving, I can't help but wonder—do I really need to be reminded of that event now?   My doctor suggested  that we avoid watching footage or thinking about past disasters repeatedly, otherwise it can lead to PTSD.  Fortunately, I also have pen pals who encourage me by saying things like, "Let's talk about something more positive."

Honestly, I would like her to enjoy penpalling with someone else besides me.  Anyway, I wrote my reply to her as follows -

"Thank you for your concern about me. Perhaps you were thinking of the Great Hanshin Earthquake in Kobe, which happened in 1995. At that time, I was living in Tokyo, about 430 km (267 miles) away from Kobe, so I didn’t experience any shaking. But I really appreciate your kind thoughts."