Make mundane things be immortal

To find beauty in the mundane is similar to cherish the present moment, in doing so memories are recorded, to not do so is to forget large portions of life.

Due to the pandemic, Visiting my parents’ house has decreased over the past two years, even though we live in the same Tokyo area. Besides, my nephew and nieces are growing so I needn’t play with them as much.

However, my nephew is eight years old so he said, “My sisters are still shopping. Hitomi is here, so I’m glad I came home first!” or, “Hitomi, how long can you stay today?” or “I’ll definitely play with you today!” So he seems to be happy that I’m here. In this way, children are irreplaceable beings who love others unconditionally.

Then he asks, “Hitomi, are you able to hold me?” He’s not a baby anymore, so it means I can lift his body or not. He is slim, so I lift him in my arms and jump, which makes him happy with a twinkle in his eye. By the way, he collects dolls he gets from UFO Catchers. The dolls are just left on the chest of drawers. He doesn’t take care of them.

I saw this and said. ”Your dad used to collect little rubber dolls called Kinkeshi, but the day came when he threw those away.”

Then, “I’ll never throw mine away!”, he insisted loudly looking up at me. So I said, “You never know.” Did I say something a little mean? But I’m sure he’ll forget that. But next time I see him, I’ll be nicer to him. Your aunt has only a short time left to lift you in her arms.

Three days later, I saw the film ”C’mon C’mon.” It is the story of a bond between an uncle and his nephew. His mother had asked his uncle, her brother to babysit him when she needed to take care of her husband for a while. What a surprise, the movie scenario is so similar to mine. The uncle is a radio journalist who asks questions to children. I am a life coach who asks questions to adults. And I have nieces and a nephew.

I projected myself onto Joaquin Phoenix, who plays the uncle. I have nothing but sympathy. He is confused but happy to understand his nephew. “How do I treat him in these situations?” When he was in trouble, he asked his sister how to parent. I thought that he was able to build a bond with his nephew in a short time because he wanted to understand the other person’s feelings in the first place by interviewing the child. But he said in the movie that juggling babysitting and working was just too exhausting!

The uncle immortalized it forever by recording his irreplaceable days with his nephew. I also have been writing about these ordinary days in my newsletters and blogs, making mundane things be immortal.