The Mystery of the Walrus Eldest Son: 'He Causes the Most Commotion, Yet Is Super Sensitive to the Atmosphere'
My eldest son, the walrus, has the ability to detect 'commotion'.
If someone is in a bad mood, irritated, or annoyed—
he receives that atmosphere sensitively, accurately, and instantly.
This is at a level that could be called a seismograph.
If he starts measuring at home, he immediately asks, 'Mom, are you mad?',
and if a small problem occurs while we are out, he reacts with a twitch and reads the room.
That is precisely why he is kind.
But at times, he is hypersensitive and quite a handful.
However, what is interesting is that
he himself sometimes becomes the very epicenter of the commotion.
■ Epicenter 1: Whining Protest on the Train (Walrus-tude 8.3)
It was one holiday afternoon.
I was taking my children on a train for about five stops.
The whole time, my eldest son was in full walrus mode.
Whining, whimpering, sulking, sitting down, then standing up.
All he would say were mysterious groans like
'Offo...' 'Oooo...'
They weren't loud, but they were low-frequency sounds that definitely echoed through the train car.
Wow, the gazes from those around us were quietly painful.
The cause of that day's whining
was a protest against the 'bicycle outing ban' I had issued a few days prior.
It started because of his weaving, which was borderline illegal.
Even though it was a road with no cars or people, he couldn't even check left and right properly,
and no matter how many times I warned him, it didn't sink in at all.
Finally, I declared,
'For a while, no riding your bike alone!'
Naturally, to him, this was unreasonable oppression and a deprivation of freedom.
That frustration appeared on the train as a whining walrus.
As for me, while feeling his 'commotion' spreading to those around us,
I was recording observational data in my heart that no one else could see.
Epicenter: The walrus himself
Walrus-tude: 8.3, Seismic Intensity: 5-strong
*There is no risk of a tsunami, but please be aware of mental aftershocks.
■ Epicenter 2: The Bicycle-Warning Old Lady (Walrus-tude 7.2)
A few days later.
I had my second son on my electric bicycle, and my eldest son was riding alongside on his own bike.
The road was a gentle downhill slope. It was a section where it's easy to pick up speed.
However, in our household, my eldest son was already under domestic indictment for reckless driving.
With the aforementioned 'bicycle ban' under a suspended sentence, he himself was being quite cautious.
That was when, as we passed by, a stranger—an elderly woman—suddenly confronted us.
'Hey kid, you're going way too fast!'
No, no, he really wasn't...
Naturally, my eldest son was furious again.
'Huh? What was with that old lady? I don't get it.'
'I mean, I was being super, super careful just now!'
His anger burns brightest when he has behaved correctly.
Epicenter: Old lady who warns all young people
Walrus-tude: 7.2 Seismic Intensity: 5-lower
*Minor fires occurred in some areas.
■ Epicenter 3: The 'Move Back' Bus Old Man (Walrus-tude 7.8)
And just yesterday.
It was a rainy afternoon, and our feet were soaking wet.
The bus was crowded, and the passengers were packed in tightly in silence.
In the midst of that, an old man who had just boarded shouted with an imposing volume.
'Move further back, please!'
'There's space in the back! Move back!'
'Move! Move!'
...Yeah, well, the entrance area is crowded, but
everyone in the back is struggling too.
People with children, elderly people, umbrellas, and luggage are all packed in tight.
Then, a middle-aged man who couldn't stand it anymore said,
'Everyone is already packed in. Why don't you come over here?'
and gently guided him to the space near the exit.
The old man moved there, and silence finally returned to the bus—or so it seemed.
However, the one who was most stirred up after that was our Walrus.
He managed to hold it in while on the bus, but
his face was already like a Hannya mask.
The young woman next to him even did a double-take.
And the moment he gets off the bus, the anger he kept warm inside it overflows like a raging torrent.
“That old... old man from earlier, why was he saying all that?”
“I mean, it’s ridiculous to tell people to ‘move up’ in that situation, right?”
“My feet were wet, there was a step in the back, and there were kids and luggage and stuff...”
“Plus, he didn’t move at all himself and just told ‘others to move,’ which is a bit irresponsible, isn’t it?”
“Hey, are you listening?
Hey?”
……I am listening, of course.
Or rather, right now, you are the one causing the most commotion.
Epicenter: The Bus Old Man of My Justice
Walrus-tude: 7.8 Seismic Intensity: 4
※There was a temporary delay in public transportation.
He causes a stir in the world himself, yet he is sensitive to the stirrings of the outside world—.
At first glance, this seems contradictory.
But in reality, I don’t think it’s a contradiction.
Isn’t it a phenomenon unique to the delicate yet passionate Walrus eldest son?
Why does something like that happen?
His empathy and observation sensors for the outside world are sharp
→ He immediately notices others’ misalignment, unreasonableness, and abnormalities (plus, he has a sense of justice that won’t let him just let it slide)He is insensitive to his own impulses or finds it hard to view them objectively
→ When he turns into a walrus and stirs up the scene, he doesn’t think that “he is the epicenter”When he rides the wave of passion, his reason flies away
→ Even though he can usually read the room, when his emotions run high, his sensors and self-awareness all temporarily turn off
That is why I think.
The groans echoing on the train,
the raging refutation after getting off the bus,
and even the indignation of “I did it right!”—
They are all his own sincere “struggle with the commotion.”
He notices too much.
But he still doesn’t know how to process it.
That is why he is both a seismometer and an epicenter.
Today, too, a walrus is causing an earthquake in our home.
And beside him, I quietly,
muttering “Seismic intensity 3 again...”,
gently wait for the shaking to subside.