Please forgive this 'doting parent' 💦 I'd like to write about how I felt after finishing this year's Obon holiday, where I was moved by my daughter growing up wonderfully and spreading her wings.

"I love you, Mommy, hug-hug!"

These are the words my second daughter, now 22, used to say to me almost every day when she was around three years old.

For some reason, when my second daughter wanted me to hold her, she would say "hug-hug."

And she would always add "I love you, Mommy" like a preamble...

I have almost no memory of telling my own mother "I love you, Mom."

That's why, when my second daughter was little and would spread her tiny arms,

"I love you, Mommy, hug-hug!"I still clearly remember how my heart would warm up every time she said that and begged me to hold her.

I hadn't really had anyone tell me "I love you" so purely every single day, so whenever my second daughter said "I love you, Mommy, hug-hug!" to me

That alone made me so happy, and she was so cute and precious...

Even when I was doing chores or busy with something, I would stop what I was doing as much as possible to hold her.

The physical affection with my soft, squishy daughter

It was such a happy time.

That same second daughter graduated from university this spring and became a working professional this April.

This summer was my second daughter's first summer vacation since becoming a working adult, and she returned home to Kobe for 6 days and 5 nights.

Until last summer, my second daughter was a university student, so she would spend over a month relaxing at our home in Kobe during summer break, but once you become a working adult, you can't take that much time off at once.

My second daughter spent a short Obon holiday with us in Kobe and returned to the Kanto region the day before yesterday.

On the day my second daughter returned to Kanto, when I drove her to the nearest station to see her off,

as I was hugging her at the ticket gate,

(I always hug my eldest and second daughters when we say goodbye)

'Mom, only good things are going to happen in my life from now on, so you don't need to worry,' my second daughter whispered in my ear while we hugged.

My second daughter had a hard time during her job search amidst the pandemic, struggling to get an offer and eventually joining a company that wasn't in the industry or field she had originally hoped for.

I had always been worried about her somewhere in my heart, but

now that she is a new working adult, my second daughter seems to have grown up a little more.

'I'm going to focus on what I can do now and do my best, so just watch me,' she told me.

'I love you, Mom,' the little girl who used to spread her arms and act spoiled with me has, before I knew it, far surpassed me and is now spreading her wings into a wider world.

Both my eldest and second daughters have left my side and started their own new lives.

This Obon, I felt that for a parent, there is nothing more joyful or happier than that.

Thank you for reading until the end.

This year's Obon holiday didn't involve any long trips or big events, but

I was able to spend more time than usual with my second daughter who came home, and I feel very mentally fulfilled. (I also talked about various things with her.)

I wrote an article like this back in March, but

I can't keep feeling lonely forever, can I!

I want to focus on what I can do each day and live one day at a time, so I don't lose to my daughters.

I am always grateful for your likes and comments.

I look forward to your continued support.