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Finders Keepers

Kenzo got very upset this morning because he didn’t want to wear shorts even though I showed him on my weather app that it was going to be 30° today. He asks every morning, "What degrees is it today?"

After some drama he agreed to shorts and brushed his teeth and got out the door to meet the other boys and girls and walked to school.

Apparently yesterday Kenzo got into an altercation with the girl down the street about who found a particular bottle cap first. Chiyo-chan punched Kenzo in the shoulder, and he restrained himself from hitting back. When I talked to him about it he was upset and I praised him for his restraint. 

However the plot thickens because the only reason we know about this incident is because Eri happened to be driving by on the way home from picking up Osamu and saw what was happening. It was right on the street corner, like gangsters. Eri and I both concluded that if she had not happened by Kenzo may have punched Chiyo-chan.

Either way, I'm glad he didn't, and it's a chance to reinforce certain values, like, "We listen to understand" and, "We give the benefit of the doubt." Kenzo has his doubts about these values, however.

This morning when we met up with Chiyo-chan and her brothers to walk to school there was a little tension. Her mom gave me a knowing nod and smile. She gets it. This stuff happens. I'm grateful that the families in our neighborhood value children's growth through slightly unsupervised experiences. I'm of the mind that if Kenzo is constantly supervised and being watched by Eri and I he won't exercise that self-discipline muscle. We're there to help, but no one learns to swim in the shallow end of the pool.

Eri came knocked on my office door and said lunch would be ready at 11:30 if that's okay. 

I never expect that, so of course it's okay. And it was amazing.


Last autumn we found a watch at Nanakita Park. At the time I tucked it in my backpack and then stuck it in a box for future use because it seemed to be in good condition. I am, after all, the guy that found a bluetooth earbud set on the sidewalk in Izumi Chuo a few years back and still use it to this day. Finders keepers.


The digital part works fine but the analog hands don't. It's a good watch and Kenzo loves it. When I gave it to him he remembered that he found it at the park a while back and was delighted.

The reason for giving it to him was because Eri and I decided that he should be in charge of minding the time when he's out and about and come home at the time mama and papa designate. His first attempt was not so successful. Kenzo headed out to meet Hidekazu and go look for lizards at the park and Eri told him to be back by 16:30. Kenzo ended up being late because he thought that meant he should start heading home at 16:30, as well as take detours.


Osamu saw Kenzo's new accessory and asked where his was. That led to some crying. He couldn't comprehend that we not only didn't have a watch for him, we also weren't going to go buy him one right this moment. He made it through based on a promise from mama that they would go to Daiso tomorrow after kindergarten and look for a watch just for him.

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