October 10th

Hi! Tap. A question first: what’s special about October 10th?

There are two answers. One is it’s your birthday. You arrived one year ago. Time flies!

Your dad hardly knows about your growth because he lives apart from you. He is living and working in Aomori as a nuclear engineer. However, he took time off and came back on Oct 10th. As soon as he saw you he said "Tap, you've grown since I saw you last time. Last time I was home you could walk a little bit but now you can walk longer. You can eat many kinds of food".

The next day, Grandpa and Grandma came to meet you. We did the isshou-mochi ceremony. Isshou means about 2kg, mochi is rice cake, and isshou-mochi represents happiness and health for those who are turning one year old. The baby carries the isshou-mochi and walks. This tradition differs from place to place. 2kg rice cake is too heavy for a baby to carry, but parents make their babies carry the isshou-mochi. They pray for their babies to carry happiness and health throughout their lives. You carried the isshou-mochi and fell backward, then cried. Grandpa and Grandma held you.

I said to your dad "We didn't get him a birthday present. I had no time to buy one" He said "The present is us, grandma and grandma. That's enough. Anyway, Tap is too young to understand what a birthday present is".

The last day, your dad went back to Aomori by airplane. We went to Haneda airport to see him off. When will he come home next? Until then you will grow more and your dad will be surprised to see you.

Oh! I forget to tell you the other answer. October 10th is our anniversary. What a coincidence! Your dad says "You are so forgetful. Sometimes you even forget my birthday. Luckily Tap's birthday is our anniversary. It is no doubt that Tap was a gift from God. All you need to remember is one day." Thanks, God.