Used clothes

Dear Tap,

The other day, I worried.

One day Koike-san said to me “I have many used clothes for a 1-2 year old boy. They occupy space in our our closet. Do you get want them?” Oh boy, that’s great. I told her “I’m so pleased to hear that.” “OK. Please come to my house tomorrow.”

Koike-san is one of my neighboring mothers. Her only son is Yuma, a 4-year-old boy. She worked at NEC, and studied in the U.S. for one year. And then, she started a new career at a medical instrument trading company. After having Yuma, she lived in the U.S. for 2 years because of her husband business

The next day, we went to her home to get your clothes. There were many clothes- shirts, pants, and pajamas. They had cute designs , no stains , and had kept their shape.

While recalling her memory, she passed many clothes to me” Oh, Yuma wore it many times. It was one of his favorite shirts,” “This trainer was a present from my friend and those pants were a pair. Yuma liked these.” ” The color is so vivid. It might be suitable for Tap”

As I got so many clothes, I thought that I didn’t need to buy Tap’s clothes for two years to come. However, for a moment, I wondered “Will she have another child? Is it a taboo subject ?” I didn’t open my heart to her at the time. After getting your clothes, we enjoyed lunch at her house. Yuma-kun and you were playing well. I said to her “Thank you but if you have another child… you might need them…”

She laughed and said “Oh, never mind. I’m already 40. It might be possible to have children but it is hard to raise them up. Sometimes I think Yuma needs siblings but these days I’ve begun to feel my strength declining. It might be the best timing go let these things go.” For a while I worried. She said to me “If I have another child, oh, at that time I will retake. Don’t worry!”

What is the best age to have children? What is the appropriate number in a family? When females get higher education and start working, naturally they get married later. If a woman pursues her career, is there no choice but to have fewer children or give it up ?Almost all women must think of these things at least one time in their life. Unfortunately, women have a limit to give birth to children. On the otherhand, men don't have a limit. May be , Charlie Chaplin might have his last children over the age of 70. About 20 years ago, people believed that women cannot have children after reaching the menopause. However, this theory has been proven wrong due to medical advancement recently. I heard that a 60 year-old surrogate mother gave birth to a child. However, having children is only getting to the start line. It takes a long time, strength and patience to raise them up until they become adults .

Koike-san & Yuma-kun, thank you for your kindness. Tap always dirties his clothes with mud, so these clothes will help much. Next time, please come to my house!

Clean less in 2009

Oh, Tap. After good vacuuming, the floor looks clean, but after that you eat bread, a rice ball, and potato salad… On the floor there are lots of crumbs and a grain of rice immediately. When turning my eyes toward the living room, there are lots of toys. The space is always messy. Ha… How many times a day do I wipe the floor? How many times do I vacuum the carpet?

However, I read an interesting article in a magazine. The author is a famous charismatic cleaning advisor. Her advice is, to my surprise, “Clean less in 2009”.

After reading that I established three rules as follows:

1) 5 minutes
Every day, devote five minutes to the most cluttered room - dining or living room.

2) Micro-clean
Tackle only the most visible dust. Vacuum just under the dining room table and chairs. If I find another dust after vacuuming? Leave it.

3) Take a Commercial Break
Jump up during TV commercial and pick up at least two toys and put them into the toy box.

There is one resolution I definitely want to keep this year: Spend as little time tidying as possible! I can keep it, maybe…

Dezome-shiki

Sad to say, we spent the New Year holidays without your dad this year. Ha… Your dad was in Aomori for his work, so, I didn’t make osechi-ryori and clean up my house. I didn’t buy fukubukuro. I didn’t put on my kimono and visit local shrines because I didn’t feel like greeting the New Year. However, today I cheered up.

We went to the New Year’s parade of fire brigades,Dezome-shiki( 出初式). Dezome-shiki is a typical Japanese ceremony. Firefighters perform fire drills for citizens and pray for a safe year. Usually, it is held at the beginning of the New Year at the fire station. However, this year is the 150th Anniversary of the Opening of the Port of Yokohama. So, it was held at the bay of Yokohama in Isogo ward. I thought boys like fire engines and firemen so, I asked neighboring boys’ mothers to go to the ceremony with me . They said “It looks interesting. My son might be happy to see the ceremony.” The day came. The weather was so fine. The sky was so blue. The ceremony started at 10 a.m. Fire engines formed a line. “Wow! Many fire engines are there! Amaaaazing!” Boys were shouting.

Firefighters started their performance drills . They acted quickly. They hosed and water spread vigorously. And then, the life saving drill started. It was a distinguished performance. Suddenly a helicopter was flying and came closer to us. A fireman threw a rope into the sea. A drowning man in the sea grasped the rope and held the fireman. Soon, the rope was pulled up and the two men arrived at the helicopter. Mind blowing! People gave thunderous applause. After the ceremony, we could take pictures behind fire engines and firefighters . “Let’s take pictures!” Oh… Tap you were sleeping well. So, three boys were on the fire engines and you were on the baggy.


The beginning of the year means a fresh start, a blank page, for all of us.　Our first page was an unforgettable performance and a shot with Hama-chan, an emergency mascot of Yokohama.
A Happy New Year to all of you! I hope you enjoyed the holidays as much as we did.

Ｔｈｅ ｙｅａｒ ｅｎｄ ｐａｒｔｙ

After having children almost all mothers might say at least one time. “Men can always think of an excuse to go out drinking or something…But I…” However, tonight we got a chance.

Now we are living in a company apartment. We all have a good relationship with each other. One day one of my neighbors suggested “Why don’t we go out drinking? How about holding a year-end party? While we are drinking, our husbands should take care of our children. They must realize the difficulty of child-caring. Isn’t it a good idea? ” Yes! Exactly Yes! So we planned to hold the party “Only women’s tikitiki year-end party (女だらけのチキチキ忘年会)" How many people do you think came together?25! Amazing!

At first we went to a bar and talked and talked…Their stress just keeps building up. Some mothers' personalities changed completely when they were drunk. After the first party, we went to the second party, and we also drank much and chatted a lot. And then, we went to a karaoke bar and sang so many songs and this relieved stress. My favorite singer are Seiko Matsuda. Her songs have good rhythms, are easy to sing, and popular.

We said "Tonight, in our apartments there were only dads and their children. There were no moms. How funny!" “By the way, what time is it now,” one of the mothers asked me. “Time flies! Do you know it’s past midnight? It is 1 a.m. already. Uh-oh! It’s late. I have to go home” I said. She replied, ” We have a right to stay out late once in a while! I was burned out but now I am refreshed" Me too!

Good night!