2025/05/20 Happiness is closer than you think ~A little relief on a restless Tuesday~

2025/05/20

A cloudy sky that doesn't feel clear since the morning. Just like my mind.

I don't dislike cloudy skies.
But for some reason, I can't seem to like today's sky.

My mind has been restless the whole time.
Things I can't find answers to on my own are swirling around, and before I know it, I'm sighing.

But I can't just keep thinking about those things.
There's work, things to do at home, and my eldest daughter's sports day is just around the corner.

I rethink that perhaps properly spending the day right in front of me is one of the ways I can 'get things in order' right now.

Sweaty Soran Bushi

I got home a little after 4:30 PM and immediately went to pick up the kids from daycare.

On the bulletin board at the daycare entrance, it said:
'Streptococcal infections are on the rise!'

With my eldest daughter's sports day coming up, I can't let my guard down regarding health management and infection prevention. I vow to get my second daughter into the bath as soon as we get home, above all else.

After returning from pickup, I urge my eldest and second daughter, who were already home, to take a bath. I stand in the kitchen and make chicken nanban with chicken breast.

I coat them in cake flour and then dip them in beaten egg.
When I heat plenty of oil in a frying pan and sizzle the chicken, a savory aroma rises up immediately.

My stomach reacts to the scent of the sweet vinegar sauce rising in the kitchen.

I can hear happy chatter from the bathroom, so I cook quickly because I want to join in.

The moment I put it on the table, the children's faces lit up, saying, 'Oh, this is definitely the delicious kind!'

With the first bite, they exclaimed, 'Wow, I love this!'
I felt like my fatigue and all my worries were melting away into the steam of the sweet vinegar.

The words 'That was delicious!' become a mother's power.

A night of dancing Soran Bushi

They are practicing the Soran Bushi diligently for the sports day this weekend.

I can't help but smile as I watch my eldest daughter dancing with all her might, laughing, 'I just took a bath, but I'm sweaty again!'

Beside her, my second daughter starts dancing, not wanting to be outdone.
Remembering that my second daughter also did the Soran Bushi at last year's sports day, it was less of an 'imitation' and more of a 're-enactment,' with such earnest movements.imitation' rather than a 're-enactment' of sorts, with such earnest movements.

The movements might be awkward, but her spirit is not losing!

Thinking, 'I couldn't do these movements anymore...', I feel a small sense of respect for the children moving their bodies with all their might.

It's only about two weeks from an adult's perspective, but for my eldest daughter, it's an intense two weeks. The time they have spent building this up with all their effort will appear in one form this weekend. I'm looking forward to it!

An email filled with the 'desire to be seen'

At night, an 'email about the highlights of the sports day' arrived from my eldest daughter's kids phone. She had written not only her own turn but also her friends' names clearly.

'For the Soran Bushi, please watch my movements after we enter, too!'

'I want you to see me doing my best' 'I want you to see my friends' success together with me'
I felt her growth in the way she has become able to convey not just her 'turn,' but also the '

scenes she wants me to see' on her own.

Finding the 'things I've done'

Even on days when I don't feel like it, time doesn't stop.
Cooking, laundry, cleaning, bento boxes, drop-offs and pickups, checking homework, and the daycare communication book.

Honestly, there are times when I move my hands while thinking, 'I don't want to do this...'

But it gets finished properly.
Today, too, the 'things I've done' are piling up properly.

I didn't get time to read, though!
For today, this is enough.

If there is a small satisfaction in the things I put effort into in my own way, that's fine.

I want to focus on 'what I was able to do today'.
They all seem like they might get buried in daily life, but
putting gratitude and thoughts into each and every one of them
is surely what 'happiness' is.Even on a weary Tuesday, the response to dinner, the children's smiles, and the sweat-covered dance gently outline happiness.happiness

is.

Even on a weary Tuesday, the response to dinner, the children's smiles, and the sweat-covered dance gently outline happiness.What does 'happiness' look like to you?


When you are properly savoring small responses.
That might be the very moment you can affirm yourself.

\ If you'd like, please take a look at this too /

▶︎ Not perfect, but
　I'll choose what's necessary and do it properly!

▶︎ Beyond the efforts layered little by little
　A day will come when you can think, 'You did well'

▶︎ An ordinary working mom who enjoys the 'morning' by waking up at 4 AM

Thank you so much for reading!

For example, the fact that today's dinner was delicious.
The fact that I was a little proud of my child's email.
Days when you can cherish such small moments
might become a 'reward' for your heart.

There are days when things don't go well, but even so, it will surely be okay.

Let's find small happiness together again tomorrow. See you later!