The Day I Heard 'One More Time.'
My eldest daughter has recently started taking an interest in shogi.
It started because she played at her grandfather's house.
She still only vaguely remembers how the pieces move.
So, we start with 'hasami shogi' where you capture pieces by sandwiching them, or 'shogi kuzushi' where you take pieces without making a sound.
Since the rules are simple, she learned them quickly while I taught her as we played together.
'One more time!'
'Let's play again!'
She invites me to play with a rare level of enthusiasm.
Even when I get home from work, she has started bringing the shogi board to me herself.
Since she just started, I am always her opponent.
If my daughter takes one piece, I take one back in return.
I try not to win too much, and not to lose too much.
One day, while I was playing with her like that, I had a thought.
'I should teach Mom the rules and let her play too.'
I explained how to move the pieces, and Mom and my daughter played against each other.
My daughter probably thought,
'If it's Mom, who just learned, I can win.'
I think that's how she felt.
I also thought that this way, I wouldn't have to worry about holding back, and it might be a good match.
The result was a landslide victory for Mom.
".........(Oh no)."
That thought had barely crossed my mind.
My eldest daughter cried.
She must have been frustrated.
Losing to Mom, whom she had just learned to play against.
Thinking she could win.
I think a lot of different feelings overflowed all at once.
The next day.
My eldest daughter, on her own,
"Let's do it one more time."
she said, bringing over the shogi board.
It seems that instead of coming to hate it because of yesterday's frustration,
she wanted to challenge me again.
Losing is never a happy thing.
But perhaps it was precisely because she felt genuinely frustrated that it led to,
"One more time."
that it might have connected to that.
Seeing her try to become stronger than she was yesterday,
I felt like she taught me something more important,
than just winning or losing.
Thank you for reading this far.
The day after she lost and cried,
my eldest daughter brought the shogi board to me again on her own.
As a parent,
this was a slightly happier event than winning the game.
Have your children ever cried out of frustration, only to say "one more time" and try again?