There are children beside me
Ono Karori
In the heat of summer
This year's hectic summer has come to an end, and elementary school students have begun their school life.
On the day before the last school day in July , I went to see Hayao Miyazaki's "How Do You Live?" with my eldest son and daughter.
It seems like just the other day that summer vacation started for the elementary school team.
In Miyawaka City, where the statue is located, the Miyawaka Summer Fireworks Festival will be held for the first time in four years.
My kids begged us to go, saying "We want to go! We want to try the candy apples ! " so we went.
Seeing the chrysanthemum-shaped fireworks being shot into the air brought back memories of watching them as a child and eating watermelon with my family.
I have a distant memory of being frightened by that thud that felt like a blow to the chest.
My little ones were more interested in fighting over the food than the fireworks, but they seemed to be scared of the noise the whole time.
Meanwhile, my eldest son, a sixth grader, said, "I wonder if I'll come by bicycle with my friends next year."
I felt a little sad, thinking that this might be the last time I would go to the festival with my eldest son.
Since having children, I have been raising them with the awareness that I will give them back to society.
As it becomes more real, I suddenly find myself in tears.
I have always wondered how to confront that feeling.
It's always been there
At one time, Sanskrit and Hindi did not have the word " have" that is found in Western languages,
The word equivalent to "have" in Hindi is "ke-paas," which means to know something is "next to" or to know something exists.
I remember my heart feeling lighter.
There is an undeniable sense that children belong to you.
I think that this concept of ownership comes from the emotion that is born from cherishing something so much.
He is a different personality, belonging to no one. He is simply by my side, by chance.
It was also the moment when I realized that that was all there was to it.
Furthermore, when I watched "How Do You Live?", I realized that we were here as a family by choice.
I naturally began to accept the existence of the "soul."
A week in the summer when two elementary school students spent in my hometown of Niigata
"Where are my brothers ? " my two- year-old daughter asks, and time passes in her absence in confusion.
When I went to Wakayama ens with three children, even though my eldest son, the child leader, was not there,
My second son was excited and said, "I'm the oldest brother!"
These words vaguely brought to mind the presence of their eldest son and daughter, and although they were not there, there was somehow the sensation that they were there.
Just like remembering childhood memories, the past and the present are connected and move towards the future.
Even if you all go out on your own in the future, I'm sure you'll always be by my side.
But even so, I'm sure I'll secretly cry on the day I send them off ...
The last week of summer vacation, I went to a waterfall with my eldest son and daughter.
I used to play here when I was in the first grade of elementary school, and we played in a way that was not much different from back then,
He had fully recovered and was a good swimmer, and was now looking out for his younger sister.
Seriously, before you know it, you're growing up without your parents knowing.
I hope that each of them will fulfill their roles in life.
This is how my mother was trying so hard to sort out her feelings.
My eldest son seems to want to go to various places on foot, and he spends his nights researching bicycles and even motorbikes.
Just like when I used to look at magazines and dream of going to Tokyo.
Yes, that's fine.
That's how I spent the summer thinking about my children more than usual.
The seasons change
Starting on the autumnal equinox, September 23rd , the autumn/winter exhibition of Kagetsuji hats will begin at Utsushiki.
Recently, Dai-chan fixed my Kagetsuhi hat, which had become completely worn out during our summer trip, and I've grown to love it even more.
A hat is also perfect for your autumn and winter outfits.
We would be delighted if you would stop by and tell us your summer memories.
