Mom, I'm home

I am a single mother raising a daughter who is in the second grade of elementary school.

There may be various opinions in society, but I have had my daughter carry an iPhone since she was in the first grade, just in case something happens while I am at work or away.

It happened just after noon last week.

My smartphone rang while I was at work, and when I looked at the screen, my daughter's name was displayed.

Huh? Why?

It was still the time she should have been at the after-school care center.

I answered the phone, feeling a little panicked that something might have happened, but what I heard from the other end was my daughter's voice, sounding somewhat excited.

Mom, I'm home!
Mom, I was able to come home all by myself!

At those words, I couldn't help but gasp.

My daughter has a very cautious personality.

Even as her friends around her started coming home alone little by little, she would say, I'm not ready yet, and always waited for me at the after-school center until the evening.

That is why I thought that it would still be a while before she could come home by herself.

And yet, on that day, without any warning, she had made it home on her own.

Before surprise, what spread through my chest was a warm feeling of happiness.

In that moment, I wanted to leave work and fly home.

I wanted to hug her at the front door and say, Welcome home.

What kind of expression did she have when she opened the door?

I wonder if she was thinking, I did it, with a bit of pride.

Just imagining that made my heart feel full.

(Ah, she was able to come home by herself.)

I think it was the moment when something clicked into place within my daughter's small world.

When I told a colleague who is raising a child of the same age about this later,

“What? You didn't get angry?”

she asked in surprise.

Hearing that, I thought about it a little too.

Of course, safety is the most important thing.

But what stayed with me the most was

“I can do it.”

the fact that my daughter had gained that small bit of confidence herself.

Children grow little by little at their own pace, more than parents realize.

There are days when I want to stop her because I'm worried.

There are days when I want to step in ahead of time to make sure she doesn't fall.

Even so,I believe that the experience of saying “I did it!” expands a child's world little by little.

“Mom, I'm home.”

That phone call that day was like a little celebratory bell, letting me know that my daughter had grown up just a little bit.

From here on out, I'm sure my daughter will continue to stack up many more “I did its” in places I don't know about.

I'm sure I'll worry every time that happens.

But more than that, I want to be a mother who can celebrate those moments with her, saying, “That's amazing.”

I feel that the slightly proud voice I heard over the receiver saying, "Mom, I'm home," will surely continue to echo in my heart many times over.

In the front row for you as you do your best
Shubidubi dubidubi
I want to stay forever 🎵