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 a national holiday, the streets were alive. People everywhere, the city buzzing. I was still recovering from the emotional movie and trying not to look like a sobbing mess.

I gave each of the boys 500 yen with strict instructions: When it’s gone, it’s gone. That’s 50 plays at the 10-yen candy machines. Or, as Kenzo quickly discovered, five plays at the rip-off 100-yen claw machines. And to make matters worse, he even managed to drop one of his coins under a machine. Lots of tears followed. Big, dramatic, end-of-the-world tears. I knelt down, held his hands, let him cry. I reminded him we’d come again another time, but I did not bail him out. I stand by the belief that this kind of lesson needs to be learned firsthand and often. Eventually, one of the kind game center ladies took pity on him and gave him a free Pokémon card. A small, unexpected patch of blue sky peeking through the storm clouds. Osamu, on the other hand, made out like a bandit, winning candy after candy, happily munching away on Kit Kats and pineapple something-or-other as his brother sobbed.

As we rode the subway and bus home, I kept thinking about Mr. Blue Sky. The boys love that song. I don't quite know why, but I'm pleased by their solid musical taste. So it was in my head, the themes floating alongside me as the Sendai lights flickered past the windows.

"Mister blue, you did it right, but soon comes Mister Night…"

Some moments feel like sunshine. Giant IMAX screens, popcorn, and jackpots at the candy machine. Others are harder. Losing your last coin, watching someone else win, learning that choices have consequences. Life. The clouds roll in, the rain falls, and then, just when you think the day is lost, a kind stranger hands you a Pokémon card, and the sky begins to clear.

For Kenzo, for Osamu, and even for me, today was one of those days. Blue skies and rain clouds, wins and losses, lessons learned in the middle of it all. And in the end, just like the song promises, the sun was still shining.