Does my lawn look greener too? It's actually quite messy, though (lol)

My eldest daughter is at Waseda University, and my eldest son is at what is considered a top-tier affiliated high school.
Looking only at the results, our family might appear to be a "high-achieving household."

But all I can remember are the messy times spent failing, crying, and feeling lost.

I thought a little about why I was at a loss for words when people told me, "Everyone in your family is so talented!"

This article is the 50th in the "Freelance Daily Life 2026" series.
▼ The previous one is here

Looking only at the results, we appear to be a high-achieving household

"Hazuki-san, all your children are so talented!"

……Huh?
My family is talented??

Hmm……
What is the correct way to respond to that??


The phrase at the beginning,
"Hazuki-san, all your children are so talented!"
was said to me by a mother in my eldest son's class.

It is true that my eldest son attends a high school considered to be one of the most difficult to get into.
My eldest daughter also attends Waseda University.

Looking only at those facts, we might appear to be a high-achieving household.

However.
It has been almost five years since my eldest daughter's high school entrance exams began.

Failing, failing, and occasionally passing.

And now, my second daughter's university entrance exams are underway.
My children and I have spent quite a few messy years.

But what I have seen is not the results

But over these past five years or so,

my eldest daughter failed her first-choice high school.
She didn't just breeze through her university entrance exams either.

My second daughter suffered a mental breakdown and transferred from a regular high school to a correspondence high school.
She has finally settled down now and is happily studying at a cram school.
But to get here, both she and I cried many times.

In the midst of that, my eldest son also faced his high school entrance exams.
To be honest, I didn't have much energy left to help him.
There were many parts he had to handle on his own.
I did my best with the car rides, though (lol).

In my experience,the time spent struggling and using trial and error was overwhelmingly longer.

That is why.
Even when people say, "Everyone is so talented!", it doesn't really resonate with me.

It feels like they aren't talking about my family at all.

The grass on the other side looks greener

Surely,the grass on the other side looks greener.

And not just with exams.

They seem to balance work and family well.
The couple seems to have a good relationship, and the family seems close.
Their salary seems high.
Their family background seems solid, and their relationships seem good.
Above all, their lives seem to be going smoothly, and they seem like winners.

We look only at those "seemingly successful parts" visible from the outside and imagine the whole household or that person's entire life.

Even though no one really knows what is going on inside.
Even though they might actually be in the middle of struggling and trying to hold on.

My family's lawn also seems to look green

Surely, my family also looks green to someone else.

Even though that is not the case at all (lol).

That is why,
"Hazuki-san, all your children are so talented!"
I suppose that is why I was at a loss for words when I was told that.

Of course, the mother who said that meant no harm.
If anything, she was paying me a compliment.

I didn't feel uncomfortable, either.

It is just that,
what the other person is seeing is only the current result,and
what I remember is the messy process that led here,and

the times we failed, cried, and felt lost.
Each time, it was the time we spent somehow moving forward.

Perhaps the angle we were looking from was just a little different.
My family's lawn also seems to look green when viewed from afar.

When you look up close, though, it is quite covered in mud (lol).

This article was the 50th in the "Freelance Daily Life 2026" series.
▶ Next, 51 is here
▶ ① is here


▼ The overall map of this series is here

★ I would be happy if you read this as well ★

Thank you so much for reading until the end!
I would be happy if you came back again.