Hiroko’s Diary

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.

I went to see an eye docotor in Umeda, today.   As a matter of fact, my son started to have checked his eyes when he was two years old.   His eyes’ movement is a little bit different from others.   But since he is too young to be checked throughly, we go to the ophthalmology once in three month.   What I worry the most is that if he has to take an operation in the future or not.  

I’m not good at sewing but I’ve come to like it after my daughter entered kindergarten.   I had to make several bags for her classroom shoes, her lunch box, her tea cup and so on.   At that time, as a matter of fact,  it was really a burden to me.   Since my son was a baby,  I wasn’t able to sleep at night.  So my body condition was the worst in my life.   Therefore, it took me tons of time to finish those bags.

But now,  my children became 6 years old and 3 years old, I have enough time to do what I want.   In April, my daughter is going to enter an elementary school, and my son is going to enter a kindergarten.    Therefore, I started to make bags.   I’ve finished a few ones but I have some more.    I embroidered  “Thomas” which is my son’s favorite, on his bag for a picture book.    

I really thank God to give me such a wonderful time to do sewing for my kids.

My daughter started to go to ballet classes about 2 years ago.   She has been absorbed in practicing for a ballet recital in March.   She has just come home having finished her lesson today.  

Yesterday my daughter and I went to a piano teacher’s house to observe a lesson.   The other day, my daughter told me that she wanted to practice the piano.   I was very glad to hear that because I have wanted her to play the piano for a long time.   When I was a child, I had never leared how to play the piano.   It was a kind of dream for me that my child would love to play it when I had a child. 

I know it’s a little bit ridiculous to have my children learn something that I’ve wanted to do and I wasn’t able to, but I’m very happy just looking at my daughter’s doing her best for the recital.   As for a piano lesson, she is going to start from next month.

I hope she loves the instrument.

Today is my son’s birthday. He became 3 years old. I really appreciate to spend the wonderful day with my family. I cooked fried shrimps, fried pumpkin, fried sweetpotato, salad, and Japanese soup for dinner. As usual, my husband has not come to home yet, but my children and I have just finished the dinner. I didn’t buy a birthday cake this year, instead, we baked some coockies this afternoon. I’m looking forward to having them with English tea later.

Every summer, my family spend an Obon holiday in Toyama and Izumisano. Toyama is my husband’s hometown and we enjoy visiting his parents and his brother’s family.

This year, we went there by car and it took us about 9 hours. It was really hectic but I thought that it was a good chance for us to be together for as long as 9 hours in a small space. Because it can’t be possible for a daily life. My children and I are always together but not with my husband.

Anyway, Toyama is a very beautiful prefecture and every time I go there, I apreciate the beautiful nature. The water is clean and delicious to drink. My parents in law used to be school tearchers but they are retired now and grow a lot of vegetables, fruits and rice. Every mornig I ate fresh tomatoes and cucumbers. Around their house, the green carpet of a rice field is spread and in the carpet there are a few houses. You can imagine how beautiful it is! We really had a good vacation.