Extra Layer of Serenity

I forgot to post this video before. It's when Kenzo had his first peanut butter and banana sandwich back on June 10th.

I'm gonna try again with real peanut butter. It totally makes a difference.

I decided to go for a late stroll after dozing off at my desk chair once again. It was almost midnight, and as I stepped outside, I couldn't help but notice that the college student residing in the adjacent apartment building had his window wide open. Again. He was watching TV or playing video games at a pretty high volume and engaged in a boisterous conversation with a friend, the sound reverberating across several houses in every direction.

Fortunately, Eri was completely exhausted, fast asleep with the windows shut. Nonetheless, I had reached my limit. Just yesterday, I took the initiative to discuss the issue with the local beat cops at the police box, and Eri even reached out to the apartment owner to explain the ongoing disturbance.

But I had reached my breaking point. It wasn't merely the noise that bothered me; it was the lack of consideration. Although my initial instinct was to waltz over there, knock on their door, and kindly request that they either close their window or lower their voices, I chose to contact the police box instead.

Unfortunately, given the late hour, it was highly likely that the officers were either patrolling the streets, asleep, or their station was closed for the night. So my call was redirected to the Izumi Chuo police station, where I relayed the situation to the very nice officer on duty. Within ten minutes a patrol car arrived, and I was privy to the entire interaction from my window.

Taking a walk with Eri brings me immense joy. This morning I followed my recent routine, a newfound habit of mine, where I commence work early and save my morning walk for a little later, once I've accomplished a few tasks. This approach adds an extra layer of serenity to my walk, as I am freed from the burden of impending responsibilities and can fully immerse myself in the present moment.

Of course, there are still pending tasks lingering in the back of my mind, but having completed or at least started on a couple of assignments and having touched base with my team allows me to embark on my walk without the nagging anxiety of a mountain of work awaiting my return to the desk.

Eri accompanied me on today's leisurely adventure, and together we traversed the undulating hills of our neighborhood, conversing about our boys' upcoming birthdays.

June means watermelon. Amazing watermelon.

Osamu is getting into that weird photo face stage.
He loves my soccer uniform shirt from when I was his age.

Some moments of your life you just wanna stop and live in forever.

Comments

Mr. Blue Sky

Man, I conked out so hard on the living room floor tonight. Right after bath time, before story time. I barely remember. Completely exhausted. Big adventure day. Another in a long series I hope the boys will remember when they’re older... our first IMAX movie, a downtown city outing, and some life lessons in the game center. We left the house at 9:15 a.m. and didn’t get back until nearly 6 p.m., totally spent but full of pizza and memories. The Wild Robot in IMAX was totally stunning. The scale, the colors, the sound. We could feel every gust of wind and rustle of leaves. I made sure we had prime seats, row G, right in the center. Two big buckets of popcorn too, which, according to Kenzo and Osamu, I absolutely should not be sharing. “You should get your own!” they kept saying. I think a little bit of popcorn thievery is well within my rights as the papa. After the movie, we headed through the cold and wind across to the game center on the other side of Sendai Station. Being...

Not About Baseball

I stayed up past my bedtime again last night. I almost made it. I watched a couple of episodes of Ted Lasso and came to a good stopping point where I was satisfied with myself for enjoying some quiet TV time with my favorite show and even though it was after midnight, I was confident I could still get a pretty good night's sleep. But no. For some reason I decided it would be a good idea to just lay on the living room carpet and put on a movie. I saw the first seven or eight minutes of Goodfellas and then I woke up when the end credits were rolling with Sid Vicious' is cover of My Way . I brush my teeth and I can see the light of day already shining in through the bathroom window. "It’s almost the longest day of the year," I told myself, to at least rationalize why I'm brushing my teeth and crawling into bed at this hour. I was trying to minimize the mental anguish I regularly put on myself for not just going to bed like I should. I told Eri that I was thinking a...

Sendai vs. Tokushima

Osamu said he had to go pee, and I make it a habit to believe him most of the time. Another habit I have is taking him to go pee, much of the time. When we came out of the restroom I decided it was time for a beer, so with Osamu holding my hand we waltzed over to the food concession and I was checking out the selection, and the prices. Seven hundred yen for a draft beer. I had a feeling. It was only 500 for a whiskey cocktail (whiskey with water on the rocks) but I wasn't about to be that much of a derelict this early with my four-year-old son in tow. The tickets were free, the seats aren't bad, might as well spend seven bucks on a beer. The problem was that the dude next to us with his little boy about the same age as Mumu-chan loudly and with braggadocio you don't often see in these parts ordered a Blue Hawaii snow cone for his kid. I heard this and panicked. Last weekend at Michinoku Park I got a Blue Hawaii snow cone for Osamu and he loved it. I looked down at my l...

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