Save My Life

I fell asleep at my desk again last night. I wasn't working. Just doing my reading after a good walk in a soggy late evening rain and even managed to actually get on Facetime and talk with a friend I haven't seen in a while. I need more Facetime with friends. I always feel better.

So I was a little late to wake this morning, but luckily Eri is very understanding. The boys, however, love to point out that I slept too late. I think in their minds I go straight to sleep right after tucking them in, which is a perfectly rational assumption, in addition to being something I should strive for.

Rain or shine, something I enjoy doing every morning is opening up all the windows in the house, even just for a few minutes if it's snowing or raining. My favorite window to open is, surprisingly, not the living room window, even though I do love the view out the front. Nope. My favorite is our bedroom window that opens as a door onto the second floor veranda. You can see clear across to Dainohara and the NTT Docomo Building by Sendai City Hall.

As I was running around trying to catch up with things after sleeping late and getting the boys ready for soccer club Eri stopped me and did that "don't you notice anything?" kind of gesture. I know she hasn't gotten a haircut in a few weeks and I'm pretty sure I addressed that, and beyond that and any Amazon purchases that she might have been wearing I was at a total loss. Luckily she is, as stated above, understanding.

Apparently she lost two kilograms. I rationalized that I did notice it yesterday when she was wearing sweatpants but today she was wearing a long dress so it's hard to see. (phew, bullet dodged)

She's been going on a few walks with me during the week, even to Dounji, which is 4000 steps that includes some pretty good uphill and downhill parts. Plus, she does the TV exercises whenever she can. She invites the boys to join but they usually just watch and make fun.

The boys are loving their Saturday soccer club, and they do great during practice drills. Today Kenzo even got picked to practice with the stronger boys when the coaches split the group, likely because preschool skills and ages vary pretty wildly. He was in a little over his head because he's not as naturally aggressive with the game (he's got my DNA of course) as most of the other kids, but he's thoughtful and even somewhat methodical with the way he controls the ball.

Nap time resumed today according to mama's mandate after an exciting practice. I went walking and had a super duper papa time at my new barber shop. This was my fourth visit I think. A friend recommended it. I like regular old-school, old-guy barbers. I've been going to old-guy barbers since I was in my early twenties, Jerry on Larchmont Avenue in LA being my inspiration. This new place sorta skews young in their staff and clientele demographics, but that's good by me. The first time I went there I told the dude I don't care about nor do I know anything about hairstyles but please just use your knowledge and intuition and cut my hair as if you were trying to save my life. I'm paraphrasing, but that was the gist.

I walked home through the Shoryo neighborhood, which is hilly and green and has tons of back streets with fancy houses to enjoy. I promised the boys that when I got back, as long as the weather forecast was accurate and the rain would go away, we would play outside in the street. One of favorite pastimes.

And that we did. Bicycle practice, races with the neighbor kids, bug catching. We even watched one neighbor kid who has an extensive bug collection feed a dragonfly to a praying mantis. That thing got chomped up like a chicken wing. The boy's mom turned to me and asked if this was okay for Kenzo and Osamu to see. Of course, I said. It's like a nature documentary. I was just glad Eri wasn't nearby. She's a little more sensitive.

When the boys got back they announced to mama that they saw a dragonfly get eaten by a mantis and it was so cool. Eri gave me that look like "what the heck/thank goodness I wasn't there".