Nurturing with care
Mariko Tagami
How are you all spending the last day of Golden Week?
At Utsushiki, the MITTAN Spring/Summer Sales Event began at the same time as Golden Week, and we had many lively days meeting many customers.
Thank you to everyone who came along.
My son, who starts nursery school tomorrow, will be coming to work with me for one day during the second half of Golden Week.
Thanks to Kaorin 's arrangement, it was a different kind of holiday as we were taken to play with the Ono children, had sweets and food, and were then taken home.
Even just a few hours was a new experience for our son, who usually is not separated from his parents except at nursery school.
In my household, when we spend time together as a family, for better or worse, I often notice my son's behavior and find myself interfering, and thinking, "Oh no, I said it again...". However, it seems that children are actually "important" to parents, which is why they are thought to be "very separate" from them.
Yesterday, May 5th, was Children's Day, and I spent the day thinking about the meaning of this word ``important.''
For the first time in a while, I went on a trip with my family to Yamaka in Oita without any work.
Whenever my son finds someone to play with, he enjoys himself without paying any attention to me, his parent.But sometimes he gets hurt or feels upset and comes crying to me.
At that time, there were times when our words as parents ended up confusing and angering our son, and I realized that my words may have been an attempt to impose my values as a parent trying to avoid causing my precious child any pain or suffering.
On our evening at Yamaka, we went to a special live performance celebrating the 4th anniversary of scene , who have helped us out with the Yasuhide Ono and Kagetsubi exhibitions, and the 20th anniversary of baobab , who have also performed at Utsushiki.
As I watched my son dance to the rhythm, fighting sleepiness, I realized that because he has experienced pain and sadness, it's the fun experiences that make the most of them.
"My son's experiences are his own and do not need to overlap with my life."
Those words just came to me.
Because they are so important, a relationship that is cherished and nurtured with a good sense of distance should be comfortable, and not just for raising children.
This incident during the holidays made me realize that I want to be a mother who respects my son's values and enjoys watching him grow up.
I hope you all have a great week this week too!
