A 35-year-old housewife's first foray into a note offline meetup

“Everyone, gather 'round!”

When you hear that, are you the type to be the first to grab that finger?
Or do you wait to see if someone else grabs it first?
Or do you choose to “not gather” when told to “gather”?

Ultimately, that probably depends on
“whose finger it is.”

Actually, I'm not the type who can say “Everyone, gather 'round!” myself.
But when someone else says it,
if the owner of that finger is someone I really like, I'm the type who wants to jump at it right away.

This time, the chance to grab that finger finally arrived.

At the end of last year.
A noter I really love,Gumi Otsukasan, quietly declared her resolution: “Next year, I'm going to meet fellow noters...!”
I'm sure she raised that finger very gently, feeling quite nervous.

“Pick me, pick me, pick me!!!”

I went to grab that finger first. Or so I thought, butMaitonsan had already grabbed it too. Such impressive speed. But I'm the same way, and I'm sure Gumi-san felt relieved too.

And at the same time, renowned members like Sunou Honda-san and Mikumayutan-san raised their hands.

“Pick me, pick me, pick me!!!”

Our very ownmika🌼chi also energetically grabbed that finger along with us.

In the end, the four of us who had plans in the Kanto region decided to meet up at a certain location in Tokyo.

For details on how the meeting went overall, please check out Maiton-shi's report. (lol)

Even so.
Right from the initial gathering, everyone had such distinct personalities...

For some reason, I assumed they would already be inside the restaurant waiting, so I hurried in alone. Nobody was there! I messed up!

Maiton-shi, who had apparently been waiting alone in front of the restaurant, came in next. (Sorry!)

Oh! Nice to meet you, Maiton-shi!

I greeted him with a grin. While I was laughing a bit bashfully, perhaps it was because of all the words we had exchanged up until now, but the conversation flowed naturally.
Maiton-shi has an aura that exudes kindness. He has a vibe similar to my husband's. Look, it's like this... I was so at ease that I immediately started showing him photos of my family. (That was sudden)

The place was a two-minute walk from the station. But while we were deep in conversation,
"Wait, where even is this place?"
mika-chi said on LINE, and we both burst out laughing.

We safely met up with Gumi-san, who had unfortunately been caught in a train delay.
They both arrived at the restaurant without further incident.

"A, ahhh💛💛💛"

The sound just naturally spilled out.
Gumi-san. Just as I imagined from her writing, she had a bright, lovely atmosphere... and yet she was so humble.
mika-chi. A stylish older sister with perfect posture... and a radiant smile on her small face.

"We met! We finally met!"

I instinctively high-fived mika-chi, who was sitting next to me.
We had encouraged each other so much in the comments. We had vented and absorbed each other's feelings about our children who couldn't go to school, and the helplessness we felt.

That's why it was such a "We met!" moment.

From there, we talked so much it felt like we were non-stop.
We talked about the articles we'd written, our future prospects, and our families.
I think some of the topics were quite deep, but the atmosphere of natural consideration, where no one made anyone else feel the weight of those topics, was incredibly comfortable.

By the way, Gumi-san set us up at a very stylish restaurant, and the food was all fancy and delicious.
However, I was so absorbed in the conversation that the only photo of the food left on my phone is the first one of the "garland chrysanthemum salad." Oh my goodness...

However, halfway through, Maiton-shi told me, 'You should take a picture of the bandit,' and I thought, 'Oh, you're right.' I remembered my mission and made sure to keep a record of the drinks.

(Wait, what is a bandit photo?)

…Um, I'm so sorry for drinking too much (apologies).
The mimosa I brought as a gift definitely wasn't enough,
so please, let's do this again... next time, I'll bring something much more thoughtful...

Anyway...

Being able to tell someone directly, 'That article was great...!'

Being able to hear stories or family backgrounds, thinking, 'Wait, is that actually how it was?!'

If I hadn't met them.
I truly feel that there were emotions there that wouldn't have welled up if I hadn't met them in person.

That said, I would like to post here at the end the thoughts that I couldn't quite convey even while talking in person🍀

✉Gumi-san

Once again, thank you for giving me such an opportunity!
I love your writing, Gumi-san.
Meeting you made me realize once again that I really do love it...✨
Let's keep writing! I'm looking forward to your publication!!!

Gumi-san is also good at drawing. The behind-the-scenes story of making your icon was also funny lol
Even though you're such an amazing person, the fact that you're too humble and struggling with your braces was just, just, cute... in a word. (Swoon)

✉Maiton-shi

I consider Maiton-shi a comrade on note, and I'm hoping that you feel the same way. lol
Meeting and talking to you made that feeling even stronger!
Thank you for all the compliments!

Still, 10,000 comments in about a year is just amazing.
As expected of the man who has mastered the art of being a pervert...! In a good way, of course.
Keep mastering the Maiton way!
And, the dorayaki was so delicious...✨ Thank you!

✉Mika-cchi

You were just as kind and funny as I imagined, and you really cheered me up✨ And by sharing our stories about our children, I realized once again that we truly understand each other.

Our children are changing even though they can't go to school.
Sometimes parents can't keep up with those changes, sometimes we want to get away, but we're always worried. I feel like we understood all those feelings.

Next time, let's have even better drinks... lol
Let's drink and talk!

After meeting everyone, I feel like I'll be able to enjoy note even more. That's the hunch I have.

Thank you for reading my report.🍀

I think you've come to realize even more that I'm a housewife who loves to drink.✨ (I'll reflect on that)