Safely Returned❣️

Greetings❣️
I am currently enjoying reclaiming my youth.
I am an artistic middle-aged madam living in an old house in the countryside, enjoying this and that.

March 1st was my second daughter's high school graduation ceremony🎓
Both the weather and my mood were bright.
It was my second time wearing a houmongi (visiting kimono)👘

This time, I'd like to share a little bit about the story of that houmongi.

This houmongi,
believe it or not, has returned to me after 30 years.

Last year, I received a sudden message from my younger sister who had married and moved away.

"The size is different, and the taste is different. I have a pink houmongi and a fukuro obi that still have the basting threads on them... aren't those yours, big sister?"

Me: "Ah..."

Memories from my 20s, somewhat bittersweet, swirled around.
But memories are ambiguous things.

It seems that for reasons unknown,
my sister had taken my houmongi and obi with her when she got married.

And last year, it was safely returned㊗️
First of all, I'm glad...😅

However, back then,
I had a strong image of kimonos being troublesome, difficult to maintain, restrictive, and having annoying formalities and etiquette...
Honestly, I was a bit bad at it.

Even so, thinking "I must do it properly,"
I attended a kimono dressing school for three years.

But sitting in seiza was painful,
and before I knew it, I drifted away from it, and we became estranged.

There are many reasons, but
realizing the difference between my mother and sister's values regarding kimonos and my own values was a big one.
Back then, I just felt,

I have to do it properly

I have to learn it
I'll be told something if I wear it strangely
That kind of "fear" was greater.

But now, I am free❣️

Mixing Japanese and Western styles is also fine.

While using Instagram and YouTube as references,
I can wear them in my own way.
Hitoe, komon, and tsukesage too.

Even kimono dressing accessories have evolved.
Before I knew it, I might be the one wearing kimonos the most now.

Of course, for formal occasions, I wear a silk houmongi.

While keeping those basics in mind.
For me, kimonos

used to be a source of "fear."
(Actually, there are other reasons... that's for next time)
But now—

I love them.

They are something that makes me look wonderful.
Because, you know,

I feel like the kimono is saying it likes me too.
I can understand what I like

because I know what I dislike.
Come to think of it, this kimono,

who bought it for me again?
...Yes, to be precise, my toxic mother.

Gratitude?

Or a trap?
Vanity as a parent?
Was her financial luck rising at the time?
My cynical self is showing.

Why did it not see the light of day for nearly 30 years?

Was it forgotten?

How should I receive and interpret this?

To be continued.