My Eldest Son's Badminton Tournament

The other day, I went to watch my eldest son, who is in his first year of high school, compete in a badminton tournament.

By the way, badminton is a club he joined after entering high school, so this tournament was his first time competing.

Once it was decided he would participate in the tournament, he started having club activities not just on weekdays, but on Saturdays as well.

My eldest son is very dedicated to the things he loves. Of course, he never missed a single Saturday practice.

Watching my child's club tournament was a first-time experience for me too. I was so excited!

However, the information we received beforehand listed the arrival time for the participating athletes, but it didn't include a specific match schedule...

What time is my son's match? What time should I go?

But my son said he hadn't received a specific schedule yet either. What? You're kidding.

After some back-and-forth to confirm, we managed to get the program and check the time. My son said he had to catch the 6:50 AM train.

Oh my. Wait, what time do I have to wake up? 5:00 AM? I haven't had to wake up that early since my son's sixth-grade school trip to Nikko...

But this is my son's big moment! I set my alarm with more precision than usual.

My eldest daughter, who was going to watch with me, looked up the train we should take (my second daughter stayed home with grandma), and we went to bed early. Goodnight!

And then, the morning of the tournament arrived.

I woke up. I managed to wake up! Wow. The sky is still dark.

My eldest son and eldest daughter both woke up without any issues. My eldest son went first, and then my eldest daughter and I took the train and arrived smoothly at the station nearest to the venue.

From there, we walked to the large park where the venue is located. On the way, we met the principal, who guided us to the venue! That was a relief. (The park is so huge that I was confident I would get lost.)

Finally, we went inside the building. Wow!

I spotted my eldest son in the spectator seats. There are four people participating this time, including my eldest son! One of them is my eldest daughter's friend.

I saw his homeroom teacher, so I went to say hello. "Your son can do it!"

The other children who are also participating said, "If it's him, he'll be fine! Good luck!" It felt like... he was really being counted on!

He said, "Oh, come on," but he looked happy.

Seeing him getting along so well with his upperclassmen and classmates made me feel very warm inside.

This might be sudden, but my eldest son stopped attending school during his first year of junior high winter break... and he graduated without ever attending classes in a classroom.

That is why I was so happy. Seeing him right in front of me, chatting with everyone and being on this grand stage of a tournament.

He chose this for himself, took action, and earned this... When I thought about that, I felt a lump in my throat, even though the match hadn't even started yet.

Then, as it was time for my eldest son's first match to begin, we all moved to a spot where we could see better.

Seeing my eldest son standing on the court, my heart soared with excitement...!

However, the atmosphere is still different from club activities, and he has no experience playing against people he's meeting for the first time. He must be nervous... I'm nervous too, as his mother.

And then, the match finally began. Perhaps due to his initial nervousness, he was pushed back by his opponent, and the seniors and the teacher both had serious expressions, saying, "He's nervous, isn't he..."

But in the second half, perhaps because he started to calm down, my eldest son's shots started landing...!

It got intense, and my cheers of "That's it! Yes!" grew louder and louder, until my eldest daughter next to me warned me, "Mom, you're too loud" (but I can't help it!).

The seniors were also getting excited, saying, "Wait, he might actually win this, this is looking good! Isn't he pushing them back?"

And then the match ended...! Wow! Cheers erupted around me. Wait, did he win? Did my eldest son win? When I asked my eldest daughter, she said yes.

What! Yes! First tournament, first win! Amazing, you're amazing, my eldest son! I couldn't help but raise my arms in victory!

I even received a "Congratulations" from the principal, and I felt so proud.

He went into his second match in high spirits, but... unfortunately, he lost.

And so, my eldest son's tournament came to an end.

But my heart was full. My eldest son is also staying motivated, saying, "I want to get my racket restrung next time."

After that, we watched matches from other high schools and the seniors, enjoying ourselves by saying things like, "That person is strong!" and "This match is interesting." Once our own matches were finished, the teacher called out to everyone to start getting ready to head home.

The schedule after the tournament was to make a detour for my eldest daughter's "oshi-katsu" (supporting her favorite idol) and then celebrate at a conveyor belt sushi restaurant, but...

My eldest son was invited by everyone to go to a post-tournament party, so we decided to go home separately, with him saying he would contact me when he was done and we would meet up later.

I said that, but I knew he would probably be home late. As expected, when I checked in with him midway through, he replied that they were still hanging out together.

Yeah, I figured. We decided to save the conveyor belt sushi for another time.

Going to my eldest son's badminton tournament, I was able to see him truly enjoying the moment.

It seems there is another tournament in February.

My eldest son said, "I want to practice my smash!" I wonder if that means he's going to polish his special move...

Something to look forward to next year. I wonder what kind of scenes I'll get to see then.

You can find more articles about my eldest son here (some are paid articles).