My Second Son's School Trip Story 3 《A True Record of School Non-Attendance》

An atmosphere that seems okay

I kept staring at the middle school's blog updates.
They updated with photos of the students walking after arriving at the destination.

“There he is...!”
His face is blurred, but it's definitely my second son.
He's walking while talking to his friends.
Just that alone makes my heart swell (I'm a simple mother).

It was the same with my eldest son, but
perhaps the teacher was being considerate
and made sure to include him in the frame when taking the photos.

Apparently, there's a class or grade-wide assembly at night.
Even if the daytime group activities and the room situation are fine,
can he handle that part...
Parents just worry on their own.

And then, another blog update.
“There he is...”
He's in the middle of everyone, putting something together with them.
（It's easy to find my child because he's big, which I'm grateful for）

He's okay now.
On the night of the first day of the school trip, I finally felt relieved.

Memories my second son brought back home

Day two.
I spent the day wondering what he might be doing right now.
The first blog update of the morning showed the breakfast venue.
My second son is clearly there too, along with his best friend (lol).
Since my eldest son is also good friends with his best friend, I shared the photo with him.

Then my eldest son said,
“It really is a bit lonely without my second brother here, isn't it?”
...What is that, are you two being cute?😊

Day three.
I spent this day too with my thoughts
wandering to what my second son might be doing right now.

What kind of face will he have when he comes home?
Was he able to make any friends he could talk to even a little?
Did anything unpleasant happen?
And above all,
was he able to make fun memories?。

Around 7:00 PM
“I'm home!! I'm so tired!!”
My eldest son and I rushed over to my second son who had just returned.

“Ah~ home. It's such a relief!”
“On the first night, I thought, 'There are two more days left... what should I do...'
but I managed to get through it!”
“I'm glad I went. It was fun!!”
Hearing those words, I was deeply moved.

The travel guidebook he used while walking around,
the name tag he attached to his bag,
the paper bag that held his souvenirs.

My second son tucked these important things into a file.
Along with that, a stuffed dog and cat.
Holding them tight, he happily said,
“I made memories🎵”

I was already tearing up
while listening to him, saying I'm so glad, I'm so glad.

My eldest son, who was happy to have his second brother home,
looked at the guidebook and said,
“I'm really happy that this guidebook is all worn out.
I'm so glad.”
Because he said that, my tear ducts burst.

Both my second and eldest sons
looked at my crying face, seemingly happy while panicking,
“Whoa, whoa! She's crying!!”
and listened to my second son's endless stories.

There was one thing I really wanted to ask my second son.
“How did you feel when you were coming home from the school trip?”

“At first, I thought, 'I want to go home already,' but
in the end, I felt, 'It would have been fine if it were a little longer.'”

…Just hearing that was enough.
The school trip had become something
of value to my second son.

And, as expected, I was crying.

Afterword

As was the case with my eldest son,
there are still pros and cons regarding children who cannot attend school participating in events.
In fact, among the people I interact with on X and other platforms,
there are those who participated in events, those who couldn't, and those who didn't want to,
so there is a wide variety.

And, what I want to convey again is that this article
does not mean "You should absolutely go on the school trip!"
.

Because of my own failure with my eldest son,
I waited until my second son made his decision.
Truly, until the day before departure, or rather, even on the day of departure,
there was a risk that he would change his mind.
I had decided to be prepared for that.

Perhaps I could have had him make the decision
a little earlier,
(that was my original intention),
but because of my second son's instability, I felt I couldn't.

I think the reason my second son was able to go on the school trip this time
is that the timing of him wanting to spend time with his best friends and teachers, and him wanting to change himself,
coincidentally aligned.

My second son himself aimed for the school trip
and gave it his all.
He will likely have burnout syndrome for a while.
But that is also something my second son chose,
and it was within my expectations.

I intend to wait again, slowly and patiently,
for his energy to recharge.

However, there is one thing I can say:
my second son decided for himself and took action.
I think this was a good thing for him.

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I also post on X and Instagram.

Kaora X x.com/kaora2314?t=W6P6zq7m-Zm36M4KmFhOIQ&s=09
Kaora Instagram https://t.co/nAdRE4zzpn