Every Ten Steps

Eri was not feeling well today. She's fully exhausted, partly from the boys being home for the spring break and running her ragged. They are two of the most energetic boys you could ever hope for, and they don't have a low setting. It's a blessing to have healthy, hyperactive, funny, mischievous little boys. It's also important to take stock of your physical and mental health each day and set expectations for them so mama and papa don't burn out.

Eri burned out. She'll be okay, but she hit that wall.

So mama put a futon out in the tatami room and curled up under a furry blanket. The boys divided their time between playing relatively quietly in the living room, crawling into the futon with mama, and coming upstairs to see what kind of mischief they could cause.

I had four back to back meetings that took up most of the day, and my boss was in every single one. The boys decided to sneak up behind me and make cameo appearances in my Zoom calls, some of which had people attending from countries all around the world.

Of course I don't discourage Kenzo and Osamu from coming to visit me "at work." One of the greatest things about working from home is having them near me. Them making silly faces behind me during calls with my boss or my other co-workers, or sometimes even with customers, is just how the world is now. I find that folks are very forgiving. After all, we're not air traffic controllers or crab fishermen. We can have distractions and reveal our humanity and still do excellent work. I could use a virtual background, but deep down I love it when the boys wreak havoc on my work meetings.

My boss actually said how surprised he was at how big Osamu has gotten, and added he forgot it was spring break and having them at home must be hard. I said it was great for me but hard for Eri. He chuckled knowingly.

The road leading up to our neighborhood from the Route 4 is lined with cherry blossom trees. Even though it was cloudy today the blossoms were so fluffy and perfect I had to stop and stare every ten steps.