2025/08/06 Pausing in a Peaceful Daily Life ~A Child's Small Discovery~

2025/08/06

The sound of cicadas has been gaining intensity since this morning.
The greenery in the garden is deep, shining in the sun, and very beautiful.

How many years into the future will we be able to see this peaceful scenery?

I am truly grateful that we can spend our days in peace. But it is so peaceful that I almost forget. That today, 80 years ago, was the day the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima.

I think about how precious it is to be able to water the plants, pack lunch boxes, and laugh while listening to my children talk like this.

Blue born from indigo leaves

My second daughter, who returned from nursery school, happily told me about the smell of boiling indigo leaves.

"The smell when boiling the indigo leaves was so intense!"

It stunk!is what she apparently thought.
And then, she continued.

"It actually turned blue!"

Her teacher taught them.
Apparently, the children cheered the moment the yellow liquid touched the air and turned blue.

The surprise and excitement of the moment it changes from yellow to blue.
They enjoyed the process from extraction while having various questions.

Imagining her face when the patterns she made emerged makes my cheeks soften too.

My eldest daughter is also very interested in the way my second daughter tells the story, as if the scene is unfolding before us. The colors of summer spread through the house all at once.

The connection between August and Mountain Day

A discovery my second daughter secretly told me before going to bed.

"I noticed something amazing!There's the kanji for eight, right? It also looks like a mountain. Is August Mountain Day? It exists, right? That's why, isn't it? Isn't that amazing?"

At that moment, I caught my breath.

At her 6-year-old's pure imagination and observation skills, which aren't entirely wrong. I was also surprised that she knew the kanji numerals in the first place!

The ability to think by connecting kanji and seasons, shapes and meanings in her own way. She sees the world from a perspective that adults wouldn't think of.

The smug look on her face conveys the excitement she felt when she found that connection.

Such ideas and surprises are surely born only in peaceful days.

My daughters keep saying they are "too excited!" for our trip home starting the day after tomorrow. For children,"the countryside with nothing" might be "a place with everything."

The lined-up mountains, rice fields, farms, rivers, and the sea must surely look like a vast, different world to them.

Things you can see and feel because it is peaceful

Today was also our usual cheerleading day.
Also, a project I had been agonizing over for about two months has reached a milestone.

The sense of relief at getting over a hurdle at work and the sense of accomplishment at having sent off the luggage for our trip home. I want to remember that all of this is built upon "peace."

Thinking of this day 80 years ago, I cannot help but feel how precious our peaceful life at this very moment is.

I believe that children's pure discoveries and surprises are also nurtured only because there is a safe and calm environment.

What small discoveries was your day colored with?

Please, try saying at least one out loud and sharing it with someone.

\ If you like, please take a look at these too /
▶︎ From the life-sized days of a mom who wakes up at 4 AM
　6 episodes that stay in your heart.

▶︎ The sweetness of edamame and a smile that makes you feel like a king.
　A moment that makes Tuesday a little special.

▶︎ Things I want to share precisely because I experienced 3.11
　The great power of a small message.

Please start with whatever catches your interest♪

Thank you so much
for reading until the end!

May the "power to feel small happiness"
gently change your busy days.

Let's continue to live gently together tomorrow as well.
Well then, see you again!