Our summer is already so far away [My eldest daughter, who refuses to go to school, goes to the beach]

I believe we had a good summer.

Early August. Summer is still just beginning.
Even knowing that,
those words already make me want to end my summer.

That is how healing the time I spent the other day was.

To be honest, it was a hard and exhausting trip for the adults.
But all the children were laughing the whole time.
Just because of that, I feel like I can even love the tan I got this summer.

We spent one night with a friend's family at a cottage we also stayed at last year.

The wife of the friend couple has been my badminton partner since high school.
From high school to adulthood, and now as mothers, we still play doubles together in tournaments.
By the way, her senior in junior high school is my husband.
In high school, she and I worked hard in club activities as his juniors.

She is also a working mother of three children.
She has a fourth-grade girl, a first-grade boy, and a middle-year preschool boy.
Together, we walked through our youth, shedding tears along the way.
Now, as comrades in parenting, we both struggle with raising our children while continuing to pursue our own dreams without giving up.

We have a close relationship where our families, including her husband, get along well.

Since we participate in weekend practices together as families, we see each other often even though we live far apart. Thanks to that, the children are also good friends.

A trip with such a friend's family.
Although we were all excited from the moment it was decided,
there was one person with an anxious expression.

“I wonder if I’ll be okay. I’m worried.”

My eldest daughter, who refuses to go to school, had been repeating this for several days.
Even she doesn't know how she will feel on the morning of the day.

Her best friend, who is one year older, has been with her since she was a baby.
Perhaps my selfish parental expectation that I wanted her to be pulled along by her friend's positivity leaked out toward my eldest daughter.

On the day, my eldest daughter was indeed crying.
But the friend's family had already departed.
We couldn't just cancel at this point.

“Your best friend says she wants to see you. First, let's all just get in the car.”

I felt sorry for half-forcibly pulling her in and making her get in the car.
But surely, if they meet, she will be able to get some energy.

Her best friend is such a positive child who radiates a 'sunny' aura, talking non-stop, and I love her too.
I hope she will share some smiles with her.
We departed as if praying.

You know, well,
I'll start with the conclusion. (Looks like I can't hold it in anymore)

My eldest daughter had a wonderful time with a big smile on her face!!! (Standing ovation)

"Eldest daughter-chan, yoo-hoo!!!!"
"I left the house so early today!!!"
"Let's have a girls' night in the tent tonight!!!!"
"I made a festival stall, you know! Let's play target practice!!!!"

At first, she was shy and wouldn't leave my side, but her best friend kept talking to her regardless.
Eventually, perhaps she gave up (lol).
My eldest daughter let her best friend pull her by the hand and walked away from me...

This is...!
Is this the legendary power hidden within the extroverts...!! (gulp...)

Watching her smile blossom more and more in the face of that overwhelming brightness was truly refreshing.
It was only natural that tears welled up in my eyes at the sight.

Watching over the children playing at the water's edge between the rocks.
The waves were calm, and there were plenty of crabs and small fish.

At night, we had a barbecue in the garden.
We bought plenty of seafood, meat, and vegetables, and prepared an amount of alcohol that made me think, 'There's no way this is for four people, are we a catering business?'
When four people who love to drink get together, well, you know how it goes.

Here we go...!!!

Despite that enthusiasm, we didn't even have time to toast together before we had to respond to the children's busy requests.

The adults just started drinking on their own.

The children were looking forward to roasting marshmallows.
Even though a commercial-sized bag of 80 was prepared, it was already empty by morning. How terrifying. (In terms of calories, that is.)

The children had a girls' party in the tent, enjoyed their best friend's festival, and kept stealing their parents' smartphones to film each other.

While the children were playing with each other, the adults played nostalgic songs and had a big sing-along while drinking.
With no neighbors around, we didn't have to worry about getting scolded even if we adults made a lot of noise.

Before I knew it, we were welcoming a refreshing morning.
Even though everyone usually lazes around on weekend mornings, there was no way they would sit still in front of such a view.
They woke up at 5 a.m. and made a huge fuss, saying "Let's go to the beach!"

Those staying behind splashed around in the garden pool.
Ah, I'm glad I was appointed captain of the stay-behind team~ ←

The roadside station we stopped at on the way home had a plaza, so we were able to play to our hearts' content until the very end.

Even with the children scattered in various places, the four adults naturally divided the work, calling out to each other to check the headcount. I was somehow impressed by that natural cooperation, thinking how experienced we had become.

After this trip ended,
both the children and the adults spent some time feeling a bit floaty.
I still feel floaty myself.
Because of that, I kept making mistakes at work. (Sorry about that.)

Summer has come to an end, hasn't it.

Feeling that sense of loneliness,
I stroked the children's skin, which had turned even darker.

As for my husband, his summer paid leave is over now,
and in the true sense of the word, his summer had ended.

It was the first summer we spent since our eldest daughter stopped going to school.

In front of the family, our eldest daughter makes funny faces, makes us laugh, and does silly things.
Once she goes outside, her expression becomes tense, and she grips my hand and won't let go.

And yet, her face is beaming so far away.
That distance.
I realized there is such a thing as being 'happy that it is far away'.

When this August ended,
if you ask whether this will suddenly make her feel better and be able to go to school,
I don't think that will be the case.

But, in our eldest daughter's heart, surely,
the beauty of this summer is etched.

The saltiness of the sea we all went into.
The feeling of the stick hitting the watermelon during the watermelon splitting game.
The many videos she took with her best friend.
The big sway of the seesaw for the first time.
The unusual languor on the way home.

Surely, you won't even write a diary.
You won't do your "summer memories" homework either.

But that's okay.
Burn this memory into your heart.

Never, ever forget it.

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☀This article is a participation piece for Nao Kurosaki's project☀
#KurosakiNao2024AugustApex

https://note.com/kurosakina0/n/nbe3250227e3e

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I have participated.
Thank you as always✨