Hiroko’s Diary

寒い日が続きますね。

Today is cold.  Yesterday was cold.  The day before yesterday was also cold…….

寒いとなかなか外に出ようとしないのでこんなにもブログをつけることができるのかしら、と思ってみたり・・・

When it’s very cold, I tend to stay at home.  I’m wondering that’s why I can continue to put articles almost every day.

私はテレビを見るのが好きです。私のことを知っている人は私がそう言うとびっくりする人が多いのです。

I like watching T.V.   People who know about me are most likely surprised to hear that.

どうも私はそういうタイプには見えないみたい。

They say that I don’t look like a person who like T.V.

昨日、島田伸介が出ているテレビ番組を見ていたら、

Anyway, I watched a T.V. program where Shinsuke Shimada, a very famous comedian, appeared on. 

伸介が言ったのです。

Sinsuke talked about a very interesting story.

今まで自分の３人の娘たちに何一つとして物を買ってあげたことがないと、

According to him, he has never bought anything for his three daughters before.

ほしいものがあれば自分でお小遣いをためて買うようにしつけたみたいです。

He told them to buy something they want by themselves using their own money.

自分でお金を貯めて買う喜びを奪いたくないとも・・・

He continued to say that he didn’t want to take the pleasure of buying something after saving money for certain period of time from those three daughters.

自分の家にお金があるからという考えを持ってほしくなかったとのことです。

He didn’t want them to think that there were a lot of money at home.

友達が全員自転車に乗っていても子供たちには走らせたそうです。

Even if thier friends were all using bicycles, he made them run.

すごくいい話だなあと思いませんか。

Don’t you think it’s a good story.

これを貫き通すには相当の苦労がいったはずです。

I think he must have kept feeling it’s hard to keep his stance.

私にはなかなか出来ないことですが、とてもいいヒントを得ました。

It’s difficult for me to do the same thing, but I got a hint as for discipline. 

これは息子が幼稚園から頂いた小人のプレゼントです。

This is a present from the kindergarten my son goes to. 

毎年１組ずつ我が家にやってきます。

Every year, a pair of cute pygmys come over to my house. 

見る度にとっても癒されます。

Whenever I look at these pretty ones, my heart is filled with peace.

幼稚園の先生がひとはり、ひとはり、心をこめて作ってくれたもので中には丸められた羊毛が入っています。

These are hand-made by kindergarten teachers and rolled wool is inside.

I love Kyoto, and I always think that if I have time I want to go to Kyoto and enjoy window shopping.  In this winter break, I went there with my family.  This time, we visited “Yasaka-shrine”.  That was the first time for me to visit there.   There were tons of people, and it took us more than 30 minutes on foot from “Kawaramachi station” to the shrine.  

I think that I should go there on week days by myself or with my friends next time.

I don’t know how to say in English, a medium is a right word?  Anyway, I went to see a person who can see the spirit world the other day.   One of the reasons is that I wanted to make sure my son’s expected surgery is going to be successful.   My son has a squint in his right eye and I’ve been wondering whether he can’t see properly or not.  Whenever I took him to the eye doctor, he couldn’t do examination to full extent.   The doctor himself even didn’t know for sure whether he couldn’t see or he was just too small to answer properly.  But last time when we went to see the doctor, he mentioned that my son should go into surgery.   Since that time, I had been worried about the outcome.  Therefore I went to see a medium and asked him about my son.

According to him, my son has had bad eyesight since he was a baby so he recommend the surgery and he said that it would be successful.  Some of you might think that it’s ridiculous to ask somebody who is not a doctor about the surgery.   My husband is also one of them.  But I was so relieved to hear that and I’m peaceful right now.  

As you can easily imagine, I am not a decisive person.  Always my mind is swinging, I’m sorry this is not the right English.  Sometimes I hate this part of my character but in a way I’m satisfied with myself.   

My family spent several days from the end of the last year to the new year at my parents’ house in Izumisano. Every year my mother makes “Osechi-Ryori”, Japanese traditional dishes for a new year. I help her cooking. Therefore, on the 31st of Dec. is the bisiest day for my mother troughout a year. She cooks about 20 kinds of dishes. These days in Japan, it is said that people don’t cook “Osechi-Ryori” at home. One of the reasons is that they don’t like those dishes. Especially, young people prefer more westernized dishes. But in my family’s case, all of us love “Osechi-Ryori”. Those are very healthy and tasty. Each dish has a good meaning. For instance, shrimp represent longevity. Shrimp looks like a man bent with age.

In that sense, I really respect my mother. I’ve never cooked “Osechi-Ryori” by myself. I think I can do it. But I don’t know how long it takes for me to cook all the dishes. Probably more than two days!

Yesterday, my husband and my children went to see my husband’s parents in Toyama prefecture.    I didn’t go there with them this time.  They stayed one night.   This is the first time for me to spend two days by myself.   Just after I saw them off yesterday morning, I thought how I would spend the day.  A lot of plans occured to me.  I could go to Kyoto to see beautiful red and yellow autumn leaves.   I could go shopping in Umeda.  But what I did was to go to a hair salon and have my hair cut.   I was able to spend time only for myself, but I felt a little bit lonely.   I missed them. 

Today, I went to church and after coming back home, I prepared things for my English classes’ Christmas party.  Whenever I make some crafts for the lessons, my children get in the way and I have to stop the work from time to  time, but today I could do as much as I wanted.  I was happy with that but at the same time I felt lonely.   Oh!How selfish I am! 

They are coming back soon.  I can’t wait to see them!

Today, I got a telephone call from the elementaray school my daghter goes.  According to her teacher, my daughter felt sick during lunch time and she was in an infirmary at school.  I was very surprised to hear that and thought that she might have gotten mumps.   3days ago, a friend of hers got mumps and that friend has been absent from school.   Her mother told me that when we got mumps, we have to stay at home for at least a week. 

As a matter of fact, this comming Thursday I’m going to have a presentation for my English classes.  I mean here is a presentation that my students are going to offer.   And that friend above, is one of my students.   I’m very sorry that she can’t come to the presentation.  As for my daughter, when she came back home, she looked no problem.  I asked her “Are you all right?”.  The answer was “Yes!”.   How much I got relieved!  I suppose that wearing a long sleeve T-shirt made her feel sick.   This morning it was a little bit cold and she wanted to wear a long sleeve one.  

After she ate some bread I baked as an afternoon snack, my daughter, my son, and I had a wonderful time painting some picture on a big paper.   Now that art is dancing with some clothepin at my veranda as washed clothes.

Today, my husband and children went to a swimming pool near my house.  July 1st is the opening day for all the swimming pool in Suita city and it’s free to enter.   While they were in the swimming pool, I was in the Suita Fukuin Church.  

After they came back home, I asked how they enjoyed swimming.  My daughter told me that she met a lot of friends from school and she had a wonderful time with them there.   I love sports but unfortunately, I don’t like swimming.   So mostly when my children want to go to a swimming pool, I ask my husband to take them.   I thank him  a lot. 

I’ve been busy for my children’s new school term preparation.  My daughter entered into an elementary school and my son entered into a kindergarten.  I don’t know how many bags I made for them.  

My daughter goes to school at 8:00 a.m. and comes back home around noon and I take my son to Hankyu Suita station at 8:20 and pick him up at 11:00 at the kindergarten.  I go there by train.   I’m very busy especially in the morning but so far, they seem to be happy in the new world. 

My daughter’s ballet recital will be held tommorow.    She started to practice for it from last September.  So far she has been working for it very hard.  She’s taken the lesson three times a week and even when she got a cold, she said that she wanted to go to the class.   I’m proud of her.  Now I just hope she will be able to do her best tommorow.