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Man You Look Old

Kenzo wrote me a note this afternoon and hand-delivered it.


He seems to be completely ignorant of the concept of making mistakes, at least with his developing interest in writing. I am so relieved. I love it. When he gave me the note I immediately read it and gave him some well-deserved praise and a high-five. The only part I couldn't figure out was the end of the second sentence. I panicked for a split second because I knew this could easily become a moment in his life that he might remember under hypnosis years from now and realize it's when he lost the confidence to read and write. That's probably just my neuroses running amok randomly, though.

I started reading it to him so he knows that 1) I value his thoughtfulness and what he wrote and 2) what he wrote is understandable. He's learning. But even more important than that is he has confidence, and I want to build on that. He'll learn how to write correctly in time. As a grown-up interacting with a six-year-old I can crush his confidence and his spirit as easily and as mindlessly as switching off the porch light, and to me it takes enormous mindfulness to maintain, let alone reinforce, tenacity and grit.

Obviously the first line is "Papa I love you." The third line is "Papa you're fast." 

The middle line starts with "Papa you're not..." and then... hmmm. I looked at Kenzo and said, "Hey buddy, I forgot how to read this word." Genius.

He read me the whole sentence. "Papa, you're not a disease."

After lunch yesterday when I was a useless mess Eri took a picture when I was dozing in the living room. Apparently I was clutching Kenzo's stuffed cat that he got for Christmas. I don't really recall that. It was probably on the sofa when I sat down and it's very soft and comforting so I must've naturally gravitated to it. 


In the morning Eri took the boys to the Izumi Library to return the books they borrowed, but they ended up re-checking out a few of them. They love Momo Taro and The Grouchy Ladybug. Since Nanakita Park is right by the library they got a special trip to go play as a bonus. 


I was grateful for the quiet time. Work today was full and I needed to concentrate. I'm writing multiple documents in both English and Japanese and they are of such a nature that my bosses could definitely reprimand me for insubordination. The topic of one of my proposals is improving work culture, which is especially timely since a member of our organization just went on medical leave as of today, apparently due to to stress and/or burnout.

Eri took this picture of me when we went out for brunch the other day, when Auntie Grace babysat.


Sometimes I look at Facebook and I see photos of friends from high school and I think, "Man, you look old." Which, for the record, I do not consider a negative thing. 

Old is wise. Old is blessed. Old is a gift.

A lot of folks don't get to become old.

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