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A Bit More Intense

Right after dinner the doorbell rang and the boys ran to the intercom in a frenzy. Osamu can't reach the button yet, but Kenzo can. He pushed the button and both he and Osamu greeted the caller with a, "Haaaaiiiii."

The delivery guy outside announced who he was and we all ran to the front door and opened it and Osamu grabbed the hanko because he knows we gotta stamp our seal to get deliveries and the guy asked if he could enter the entranceway because he had two pretty heavy boxes.

And they were filled with bottles of wine.

Eri found some great deal online and got us a shipment of assorted Christmas and New Year wines. I unpacked the contents after the boys went to bed and stowed them all in the "cellar." We have storage spaces under the floor in the kitchen and in the laundry room. The kitchen one is a proper mini cellar-esque place to keep cans of soda and beer, coffee, and other stuff that has labels that say "store in a cool, dry place."

The laundry room cellar is actually a crawl space that can access any area under the floor of the house, and it is a perfect place to keep cases of beer and wine, especially in the cold months. That's where I deposited the wine tonight, next to a jug of plum wine we got from a friend and a case of wine cooler-like beverages that I've come to enjoy as a replacement for beer.


As autumn turns to winter in Sendai, and snowy days are right around the corner, it's nice to have a stock of supplies under the floor.

I was having an online meeting with a co-worker this afternoon. Actually he's the current sales manager and soon-to-be department head, which means he's gonna be my boss come April.

Eri brought the boys home from the kindergarten bus stop about the usual time - 14:35-ish. She didn't have her class today so there was no need for her to rush out, which was good because my meeting was still going, and we were talking about future plans for budgets and strategic customer support initiatives. And I had the door to my office open.

The boys came up the outside steps and into the house wailing about something. Eri was definitely not happy judging by the tone and volume of her voice from downstairs. I told my coworker to hang on while I close the door and then sat back down and uttered a perfunctory apology.

But man it got heated down there. I was really wondering what was up. Sometimes the boys come home super hyper or tired or grumpy and it gets a bit raucous when I happen to be in a meeting at that time, but today was a bit more intense.

By the time my meeting ended the boys and Eri were already napping in their bunk beds. Eri was sleeping on the top bunk with Kenzo. He actually napped. Thanks to mama. Usually after she leaves for her class he lays there staring at the clock, pretends to sleep, climbs down after Osamu starts snoring from the bottom bunk, and spends the rest of the afternoon coloring and getting sleepy and grumpy and watching TV.

I still don't really know all the particulars, but there was a brotherly altercation upon arriving home from kindergarten. I'm sure one of them wanted to be first to do something, like use the bathroom. It turns out Kenzo scratched Osamu on the face and Osamu called Kenzo "bakayarou", which in Japanese is kinda bad.


Kids heal so fast. When I checked Osamu's scratched face after he went to sleep it was already looking way better than it was before dinner. In the bath he didn't even complain about it. 

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