Have you ever experienced that tip-of-the-tongue (TOT) phenomenon? Do you know what I'm talking about? Well, if you know, then I dedicate this autumn poem to you. Don’t sweat the small stuff-- this too is a normal state; happens to everyone. Trust me.
In the 1990s I was a new mother raising my kids in a land so foreign than my own that tuning in to the way I saw my mommy-friends do it turned to be the new normal I wanted to imitate. I tried the mamachari... "The mamachari is a cultural icon, it’s the Japanese equivalent of the family station wagon. It’s the family workhorse used on shopping runs, for riding to the local station, taking the kids to school or picking them up from sports practice. Without it families around the country would be in a right pickle. "— Byron Kidd
So parents, be good role models for your children. The future of humankind depends on it. You’re tired and feel spent, I know. I’ve been there. Still, be good models... the rewards will come; and when they do you'll comprehend why there’s no other job in the world quite as rewarding as that of being a good parent.
Remembering something similar that happened to me a very long time ago when I came to Japan, I roared uncontrollably with my own bout of laughter. Words got stuck in my throat and with more to do than to just wait for his mother to recover from the laughter, my young man hung up on me.