Drama 10 'Happiness is Eating, Sleeping, and Waiting' Finale | Living While Making Yourself 'Happy'

It's not that it's super exciting or that I'm dying to know what happens next,
but 'Happiness is Eating, Sleeping, and Waiting' had a charm that made me prioritize watching it over all the other recorded shows piling up.

It was calm and relaxed,
it made my heart feel a little lighter,
it made me feel like I could keep going even if something painful happens in the future,
and it was a drama that reminded me that happiness is right there.

There are no murder cases,
no women having affairs,
no messy arguments between men and women,
no fighting against giant organizations,
no embezzlement cases,
no genius doctors who never fail,
and no fighting against zombies.

It's not a love story,
not a workplace drama,
not a coming-of-age story,
not horror,
and not a legal or medical drama.

However, if you ask if it was just a calm and relaxed drama, that wasn't the case either; the story began with the protagonist, Satoko, having to quit her job, give up her dreams, and even move to a cheaper apartment after being diagnosed with an illness she would have to live with for the rest of her life.
Writing it out like that makes it sound like a dark story, but for some reason, this drama always had a comforting atmosphere.

At 38, single, quitting a job she found rewarding to switch to a part-time job four days a week—since I'm close to her age, I really understand that pain, frustration, and anxiety about the future. No matter how capable you are, you can't work like everyone else, and it's even harder to keep working if the people at your workplace resent you.
I think she just didn't have the energy left to fight in a place like that anymore.

There was a scene where Satoko's mother lashed out at her for giving up on so many things, but Satoko had surely tried to find ways not to give up, failed despite her efforts, and then calmly looked at her current situation and arrived at the point of 'cherishing the life right in front of her.'

Spending her days in an environment where she can work without strain, in a low-rent housing complex, eating medicinal meals that are gentle on her body.

She isn't giving up at all; Satoko tries to find what she can do at any given moment, thinks about it, and tries to put it into action.

Even so, things don't always go well, of course.
In typical drama tropes, the protagonist is often put in a dire situation around episodes 7 or 8, followed by a whirlwind of success leading to the finale, but this drama didn't have any major developments like that.

Just when you think things might go well because something happy or hopeful is depicted, it turns out they don't, or she just can't do it, or her health takes a turn for the worse.
Things going well, things not going well, feeling energetic, not feeling energetic... there are small ups and downs in feelings every day within a single episode, and that, in a way, is just like our daily lives, which I think was the charm of this drama.

Work is hard,
life costs money,
even if you don't want to get angry, you end up yelling at your kids,
cooking is a hassle,
you want to do more things but can't,
and sometimes you just get exhausted by it all.

Even so,
there is a sense of accomplishment when a big job is finished,
payday is exciting even if my salary is much lower than before I had kids,
my child's sleeping face is incredibly cute,
and it makes me happy when someone says the food I made is 'delicious'.

Even if nothing major happens in the drama, and even if we aren't in a state of constant happiness, that is how we spend our days, and we can still properly feel 'happiness'.

Satoko also had times when she was in a state where a bit of an unhappy atmosphere drifted around her because things didn't go well or her health was poor.
Even then, she had the strength to feel 'happiness' through small things like eating with close friends or making medicinal food herself, and 'not letting herself end up unhappy'.

Every episode of the drama ended with a calm atmosphere where you could always feel a little bit of happiness or hope, and that was because Satoko was properly making herself 'happy'.

Not asking for things she doesn't have,
not being pessimistic by only looking at what she can't do,
but looking at what she can do, and what she can do in her current life.

Regarding the end of the final episode, not everything went perfectly, nor was everything neatly resolved.
We don't know if the cafe will actually be realized, and even if things move in that direction, there are mountains of problems: who will manage it, how will it be operated, and can it generate enough profit to pay proper wages?

Even so, I want to pray that they solve these various problems little by little and that things go well.
I want Satoko to succeed with a cafe where elderly people who want to work can work, young people who want to showcase their work can hold solo exhibitions, people with handmade hobbies can sell their goods, people can drink healthy tea, and people can enjoy meals made by hidden culinary talents living in the housing complex.

With Tsukasa returning, the housing complex filled with various people, and the company being cooperative, it was a gently warm ending that made me think that while things might be difficult, they might just work out.
While praying for success, I also feel that even if things don't work out and she ends up disappointed, Satoko will still carefully make and drink a delicious medicinal soup on those nights to cheer herself up. And I feel that, supported by the people in the housing complex and at her company, she will once again think of something else without giving up.

Even if not everything goes well,
even if there are painful or depressing days,
if you eat, sleep well,
and stack up days where you can say 'I did what I could,' you will surely become 'happy'.
It would be nice if we could spend our days making ourselves 'happy' like that.

That is what the drama 'Happiness is Eating, Sleeping, and Waiting' gently reminded me of.

The end.

Satoko often dozed off on the sofa, so I was on edge, thinking, 'You're sleeping in a place like that again...! You'll catch a cold!'
I want the volunteers among the viewers of 'Happiness is Eating, Sleeping, and Waiting' to gift Satoko an incredibly good sofa and an incredibly comfortable blanket.