Coming Home
My eldest son is coming home today.
Since he has his Coming of Age ceremony, he decided not to come home for the New Year holidays to coincide with that.
This is because airfare costs double.
My eldest son even properly made and ate toshikoshi soba and ozoni✨️
That's amazing.
I would get a LINE message from my eldest son every now and then.
One time, he told me about how he self-analyzed that his "proactiveness had increased."
My eldest son is a young person who prioritizes time and cost performance.
Before, when he really wanted to start something, take on a challenge, or do something,
he would spend all his time researching whether he would lose out, if it would be a waste, or if he would fail,
and he was the kind of child who would only start moving once he knew it would be beneficial to him.
So, he didn't rely on intuition, but rather on preparation.
As a result, it seems there were times when he ended up not being able to take action at all.
I would always tell him,
"There is nothing in life that is a waste."
"Failure isn't bad; it becomes experience."
"Failure is the stepping stone to success."
I would say these things to him repeatedly, as if I were telling them to myself as well.
Failure.
Failure becomes experience.
You learn what you were lacking.
You can be more careful next time.
It wasn't until I was much older that I was actually able to think that way.
In the medical field, failure is not permitted,
and Saturdays, when I had to share my failures with the staff, were my personal hell.
Failure is bad.
There was a time when I kept lowering my own value because I was failing.
However, it's different now.
I think of failure as a treasure, almost.
Of course, failures that involve life are not allowed, but
experiencing embarrassment and misery
actually enriches the heart, I think.
Well, it's painful when you're actually going through it, though.
I've gotten off track,
but I think both my children and I will have many different experiences
and continue to enrich our hearts.
I wonder if that is what growth is.
That's what I thought on the day my eldest son was coming home.
Now then, I hope his flight doesn't get canceled.