マリコは30歳で、夫と小学生の娘がいる。妹のルナは自営業で雑貨店を経営。家族は比較的近くに住んでおり、定期的に連絡を取り合っている。パンデミックの影響で妹の経営が苦しくなり、祖母が援助を申し出る。家族は感染症の流行で集まることを控えていたが、祖母は家族での食事をとても喜んでいる。母は妹だけが助けを受けたことに怒りを感じ、金銭感覚について悩んでいる。マリコは祖母からお金の使い方を学ぶことを大切だと考えている。
Continuing from last time. My name is Mariko. I am around 30 years old. My husband (Tsukasa, 30 years old) and I have a daughter in elementary school. My younger sister Luna (30 years old) runs a miscellaneous goods store as her own business. My sister lives alone, my mother (Ikuyo, 50 years old) lives with my father, and my maternal grandmother (70 years old) lives alone. We all live relatively close by and have a good relationship, so we stay in touch regularly. In the midst of this, my sister’s miscellaneous goods store began to struggle due to the impact of the pandemic, and she sought help from the family. At that point, our financially comfortable grandmother offered to help my sister. However, we decided to keep it a secret from our financially strict mother.
My sister didn’t go into details about the amount of support she received from our grandmother, but it was clearly in the millions.
Before the pandemic, my family, sister, parents, and grandmother used to gather regularly for meals. However, due to the outbreak of the pandemic, we refrained from meeting for a while. Finally, my grandmother seemed very happy to have a family meal together again.
During a fun dinner, my grandmother suddenly mentioned that she was helping my sister. However, it seemed like she was completely unaware of what she had said.
My father, sister, and I thought what grandmother said was inappropriate, but we tried to ignore it. However, my unusually sharp mother did not remain silent at that point.
My mother’s anger stemmed not from the fact that she was kept in the dark, but from the fact that only my sister received help. Perhaps due to never worrying about money since childhood, my mother is comfortable spending more than she earns or letting others spend her money. Nonetheless, I have a strong resistance to spending money on anyone other than myself, including my children.
Grandmother has resigned herself to mother’s sense of finance, saying, “I also have a responsibility as a mother.” Since mother remains unchanged, it may be up to those around her to deal with it.
I don’t think my mother’s strictness is solely due to my upbringing; I can’t help but feel there’s something dark within me. There were various issues between me and my ex-husband before marrying my current father. Perhaps my mother tries to compensate for her lack of confidence and vague anxiety about life with money and material possessions. Thinking about this, I not only feel frustrated but also some pity towards my mother. Nevertheless, I believe it’s important to develop a sense of money management that suits my own level. I will continue to learn how to use money wisely from my grandmother.
Original Draft & Editorial Department / Script & Illustrations: Rolling Dell / Editing: Murami Miyabi