The Next Best Option

Kenzo has zero problem chickening out of stuff. At the cheapo barber shop he famously panicked and declined a haircut after I’d already paid using the ticket machine and it caused a bit of trouble trying to get a refund. The surly barber guy even gave me a warning.

So today I saw the ticket machine for the ski lift and looked at Kenzo and then at the ski lift going up the mountain. There’s no way we’re getting a refund here. So I pulled the boys over, even though Osamu was fully revved to go. I pointed to a nice old couple getting on the lift and we all observed as they slowly crept crept up the incline.

I asked the boys if they could do that and they both gave me the affirmative. Eri doubled down. “Are you suuuure?”

Somehow we made it up Mount Izumi with a finicky 6-year-old and Osamu on what I termed a “flying chair”. I just made that up in the moment to assure success. The idea of a flying chair was sure to mentally distract them until we were already on our way. Up to about the halfway point I was ready for Kenzo to panic and cause the entire lift system to go into code red so he could be escorted back down the mountain, especially after it stopped and started a couple of times, causing the lift chairs to shake pretty good.

But we made it. I think it’s safe to say the sense of achievement was not just felt by Kenzo. Twenty-six bucks for the round trip tickets hung in the balance, and since the boys can’t ride alone and it’s only two per chair, if anyone decided they weren’t going there was gonna be a disgruntled gaijin dad making a scene.

Eri’s not an outdoorsy type. She likes cafes and shopping downtown and air conditioning. Even the walk from the car up to where the ski lift is elicited a muted sigh of weariness. Weekend adventures to random crazy places are the norm for the boys and me at this point. Eri may never just truly give in to the shenanigans.

And that’s okay.

She prefers to use the GPS navigator when driving. I like to see if I can find the way myself. Somewhere in between those two sensibilities is where our relationship thrives.

Some boys gave Kenzo a red dragonfly they caught. Second weekend in row.

I did a late afternoon walk that turned into an early evening walk real quick. The boys were napping hard and Eri told me to take my time. I love listening to podcasts while I walk but today there was plenty of audio in my mind already. Sometimes I wish I could freeze time so I could just grab a coffee and sit and stare at everything before it has a chance to pass by.