What was more important than the presentation. I'm glad you went to school.

The day of the class observation.
I stood in the corner of the classroom, feeling a little nervous.
Today was the day for each student to give a presentation reflecting on the past year.

For the past week, with a bashful expression, he would say,
"Mom, come and watch me,"
and I had seen everything—the content of his presentation and how much he was looking forward to having me watch him.
My son had intended to talk about his hard work in soccer, but the day before the observation, it seemed he was suddenly suggested to write about what he had worked hard on at school.

Perhaps feeling that what he had worked hardest on was being denied, despite how much he had been looking forward to it, he said,
"I don't want to go to school."
"I'm not going to present."
He crawled under the kotatsu, looking as if he had completely lost his motivation.

Because he kept saying he didn't want to go to school,
I had the option of letting him stay home,
but having watched him work so hard at soccer all year, I wanted him to value his true feelings. I told him that while he had worked hard at school too,
it would be better to present about soccer with confidence.

Today was a bento day.
Hoping to cheer him up even a little,
I cut his favorite dekopon orange into bright slices and put them in his dessert container.
"You've worked so hard, so eat your dekopon and give your presentation in a loud voice," I said,
and managed to send him off.

As the time for the class observation approached,
when I arrived at the classroom, I saw my son playing happily and energetically with his friends.
I felt a little relieved.

The observation time arrived, and the presentations began.
Overflowing with nervousness, anxiety, and a desire to entertain everyone,
my son was a bit high-strung, almost to the point of being noisy.

But he stood in front of everyone properly,
and gave his presentation in a loud voice.
After the presentation, his nervousness faded, and he made everyone in the class smile.🌱

After the presentation, I received a call from his teacher.
They told me that in the morning, he had told the teacher he would present about soccer.
That during lunch, he had shown everyone his big dekopon and looked very happy.
And that everyone in the class was happy for him.

In the car on the way home,
"I'm glad you didn't skip school and went after all," I said,
and as I stroked his head, he quietly gave a small nod.
The feeling of wanting to run away.

You gathered your courage and overcame it.

For that alone,
I think today was more than enough.🌱