Monday, January 19, 2026, Sunny

I finish in five minutes on Monday morning what I couldn't get done over the two days of the weekend. Things like putting the kids' indoor shoes into their bags or attaching name tags to their blazers.
Why can't I do these things on the weekend, I wonder.

Since my husband is away today, it's my turn to take the kids to kindergarten. As I'm rushing to get them dressed,
my daughter, who should be able to get dressed just by standing there, starts counting out a beat. She's rapping like a pro, going, "C-pup, C-pup." (C-pup meaning speed up.)
I wish she'd use that time to dress herself, but she looks so happy that the whole room just goes with her flow. Even though my own tense energy had been filling the space just a moment ago. My daughter is a natural ray of sunshine, and I respect that. If she could just learn to dress herself, she'd be perfect.



My son, who has popped his collar to put on his uniform ribbon, looks like a frilled lizard and is just adorable.

The teacher helps them out of the car in the morning. I'm grateful for these days where everything is taken care of.
When my daughter trusts the teacher so much that she leans her entire weight on her, the teacher says, "How cute." I want to give this teacher a bonus.

I make it a rule to put Afternoon Tea in my work thermos once a month, and I chose today for this month. Because I didn't sleep very well last night.I wasn't sure if I should have used it at the start of the work week, but I'm glad I saved it for today.

The person at the government office window where I went for work told me it was great that I brought my own thermos. What perfect timing.
Even though I didn't need to say anything, because I'm shy, I ended up saying something weird and unnecessary: "It's tea, though."
They told me, "Tea isn't good. Barley tea would be fine, but tea leaves everything behind."
That wasn't what I expected. It's only once a month, and for me, it's a reward to help me do my best. It's not like we have the kind of relationship where I can explain that I'm well aware it leaves residue, or that I don't mind if I drink it every day.
Feeling like Rengoku from inside me was about to pop out and say, "Our values are just different," I hurried back to the office.

The new dentist's office seems to have blue and yellow as its theme, and I think I might mistake it for a TSUTAYA.
It's a location where the tenants change often, so I'm rooting for them on the sidelines.



During my lunch break, I go to the supermarket.
I often buy canned corn, but I can't help but mutter to myself, "That's so expensive!"
There's one person at the register with a great voice. They would definitely be perfect as a wedding emcee. I want to tell them, "Why don't you try being a wedding emcee?" but I can't exactly introduce them to anyone, and I'm a plumber who's shy, so I decide against it. They might even be a former emcee, and it's not bad to hear a nice voice at the supermarket.



I work hard in the afternoon and go to pick up the kids.
The teacher in charge of extended care told me that when my daughter was struggling because she couldn't hold two toys at once, her older brother, my son, said, "Big brother will help you," and assisted her.
It's a problem that there are so many teachers I want to give a bonus to.

The teacher and I told my daughter how lucky she is to have a big brother like that.
Perhaps because we are the same gender, I tend to empathize more with my daughter, and it seemed the teacher felt the same way.

I get home and brew some hot tea. As I inhale the aroma, I wonder what I would do if someone asked me to choose between tea and coffee in the future. I couldn't choose between them. I thought to myself that it had been a surprisingly happy day.