Present for the future.

A Ferris wheel is not a roller coaster, but that’s why it’s similar to life. It’s about slowing down and appreciating the view. Let’s take that Ferris wheel feeling with you! Live in the present and observe.

“I want to ride the Ferris wheel at Odaiba!”

My 13-year-old niece, who was staying at my house at the end of the summer holidays, said. It was a plan I would never have thought of. It’s been ten years since I rode that Ferris wheel with my niece. What would I feel if I went to the same place I went to that day?

When I arrived in Odaiba, I was surprised to see the information about the big Ferris wheel. It was going to close the next day. The Ferris wheel was built when I was 25 years old. I never imagined that six years later I would be living in a flat with a view of the Ferris wheel. Then another three years later, my niece would be born and I would become an aunt. And that I would ride this Ferris wheel the day before it would close. Thanks to my niece, enjoying the last ride will soon become a nostalgic memory.

“What did you talk about with an eighth-grader?”, my yoga teacher asked me.

My niece did 60 minutes of yoga with my yoga teacher’s online yoga video before going to bed. So my teacher was amazed at my niece’s ability to concentrate. I was surprised too, but I also thought my teacher was impressive in guiding her to stay focused. I also wanted to do yoga with my niece one day, so my wish came true.

My niece enjoyed taking a walk in Ginza, did karaoke, had dinner, did yoga for the first time, made bibimbap, interviewed her aunt, and wrote a report on the computer. And I gave her a new experience one after another. My niece said, “Maybe the similarity between me and Hitomi is the way we laugh,” so I suppose that’s how much we laughed.

And after the Ferris wheel ride, we talked most while on the three trains to take her home. My niece is now a centimeter taller than me and we walked and talked almost side by side. I intentionally wore a T-shirt and jeans combination to make it easier for my niece to talk to me.

What were we talking about?
What’s happening now, what’s coming up? Since we only meet occasionally, the topic is always the present. No matter what stage her puberty is at.

I hadn’t been to the Ferris wheel in ten years, but I didn’t feel anything very extreme special. This is probably because, unlike a theme park, a Ferris wheel does not do anything for us. However, when I looked inside myself, the fact that I had been there ten years ago came back to me as a memory of those lovely days, and I felt a warm feeling.

Living in the present was a present for the future.