His Current Yukon

Kenzo has been hesitant about school and Friends Club for months now. Every morning since September, Eri has walked him to school... his daily security blanket. I know he’s just eight, and this is a phase, but I can’t help but be concerned and overthink it. The thing is, he almost always comes home in a good mood. Once in a while, he’ll mutter that school wasn’t fun, but I'm pretty sure that’s standard.

Today, Eri was at Osamu’s very last kindergarten open house, so when Kenzo got home, it was just me. I had been working at the dining table downstairs with the curtains open onto the world and enjoying the heck out of the peace and quiet. I even cleaned the fish tank and loved it. Kenzo came in and put his stuff down in the living room and said he had a good day, then immediately followed it up with, “I don’t wanna go to Friends Club.”

“Why?”

“Some kids bully me.”

That got my attention, but I’ve (mostly) learned not to jump straight to problem-solving. Kenzo is sensitive. He feels things deeply. I believe he thinks he’s being bullied, but I’m 95% sure it’s not actually bullying. More likely, it’s kids being kids, and he’s struggling to navigate it. He’s been home sick for over a week, so I get that he’s nervous about going back.

We made a deal. I’d call his teacher to talk about his worries, and in return, he’d follow through on his responsibilities. He put away his and Osamu’s laundry, one of his assigned chores that he’s been dodging lately. I heaped on praise, gave him a sticker for his chart, and reminded him he’s only a few away from earning his whopping 200 yen. Small wins.

We started reading The Call of the Wild last week. Kenzo loves it. Osamu tolerates it. But it’s perfect for this moment. Buck, the spoiled California suburban house dog, is forced into the harsh world of the Yukon. He struggles and he suffers and he fights to survive. It's much more intense than I remembered. Good lord poor Curly gets mauled to death before page forty. Through it all, though, Buck grows stronger. Every challenge makes him tougher, sharper, more capable.

That’s what I want Kenzo to see. Right now, school and Friends Club feel hard. He’s facing struggles, big and small. And he's also a cozy suburban boy. Kozy Ken. That's his inside joke nickname. But these moments are maybe in a way his current Yukon. Every time he faces them, every time he pushes through, he’s getting stronger, even if he doesn’t feel it yet. Luckily no one's getting beaten by a sled dog trader in a red sweater or slashed in the face with razor sharp fangs.

One day I think he’ll look back and see that the struggles weren’t just obstacles. They were shaping him into who he was meant to be.

Comments

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