Work 15: Sandbox Rolling
Before my daughter started kindergarten, when she was about two or three years old.
I often took her to the park to play during my lunch break.
—
For a typical office worker, lunch break is a time to eat.
But for those of us who work at the racetrack, mornings start early.
How early, you ask?
My alarm is currently set for 4:20 AM.
If you're thinking, "That's surprisingly normal."
In the summer, this becomes 2:20 AM every single day.
And on weekends when races are held, it can be as early as 1:20 AM.
It's no longer morning; it's the middle of the night (laughs).
—
With mornings this early, the lunch break is long.
Most people use that time to take a nap.
But I,
even while being attacked by sleepiness,
would cut into that time to take my daughter to the park.
—
At first, it was just normal sandbox play.
Making mountains, making cakes.
A common, everyday scene you see anywhere.
But one day, that mountain—
evolved into a "rolling course."
A mountain where you could roll balls.
—
It started as a simple course.
But as I did it more often,
my inner "creative spirit" awakened.
"It would be fun to add a curve here."
"Let's make a tunnel here."
Before I knew it, the quality kept getting better and better.
—
Then, something strange happened.
The neighborhood children naturally started to gather around.
"Make a rolling course for us!"
They started saying that, and
some even showed up as pros, bringing their own balls (laughs).
—
Originally, this was a park I came to just to let my daughter play.
But before I knew it—
I was the one having the most fun.
—
By the way, these courses take about 10 minutes to build.
Why do I build them so fast?
The reason is simple.
If I don't build them quickly, my daughter gets bored and goes somewhere else.
If that happens, I—
become just a strange man alone in a sandbox building a rolling course (laughs).
—
However, this "high-speed production" had a price.
One day, unable to withstand my shovel technique,
the Anpanman shovel broke.
I definitely overdid it.
—
When I went home and reported it to my wife,
telling her, "I want a sturdy gardening shovel next time"—
"What exactly are you going to the park to do?"
she asked with a calm remark (laughs).
—
I replied.
"I'm going for my followers (the kids) who are looking forward to the rolling courses."
—
...Thinking about it now, that doesn't make much sense (laughs).
—
But thanks to these "rolling courses,"
I naturally became friends with the neighborhood kids and their moms,
and my daughter went to kindergarten on her first day with a smile, without crying.
That time was definitely not wasted.
—
I don't go to the park as often now,
but when I do show my face,
the kids gather around and say, "Play with us!"
—
I think this is just like sea glass.
I was just having fun, making what I wanted to make.
Yet, before I knew it, people were gathering around.
—
A value that isn't money.
Something gained precisely because I spent the time.
—
What I was building in that sandbox
wasn't just rolling courses,
it might have been connections with people.
—
And now—
unlike back then, I'm able to get a good nap during my lunch break.
That is important time in its own right.
But, precisely because it's now, I think about it.
I miss the time I spent in that sandbox
just a little bit.
Sometimes, I feel a little lonely.