In Chapter 1, Rumi, a stay-at-home mother of a family of four, is considering going back to work part-time once her youngest son starts kindergarten. Recently, she has been receiving calls from her older son’s school regarding his progress, leading to some concerns. Rumi decides to seek advice for her older son while spending more quality time with her younger son. However, a misunderstanding with her sister-in-law leads to a realization about the importance of communication and appreciation in relationships. Rumi reflects on the importance of trust and communication in maintaining healthy relationships and vows to improve in the future.
Continuing from last time. I (Rumi) am a family of four with my husband Taro, our eldest son Kenta in first grade, and our 3-year-old son Kotaro. Currently, I am a full-time homemaker, but I am considering starting a part-time job once Kotaro starts kindergarten. My parents’ house is about a 10-minute walk away. With the help of my parents in raising the children, I was doing my best every day. My younger brother’s family also lives about a 20-minute walk away. We had a mutual agreement to help each other in times of need. However, recently, I started receiving phone calls from the school regarding my eldest son Kenta. I couldn’t take my second son to meet with his teacher for educational advice, so I had to leave him with my brother’s wife, Makochan.
I left Kouta with Makochan and came for an educational consultation. Regarding Kenta, I received advice from the teacher and decided to continue monitoring him at home.
“I’ve been so busy with Kotaro that I haven’t been able to spend much time with Kenta. Since I have to go to school, let’s listen to Kenta’s story carefully.” I got the opportunity to spend time with Kenta. That was what I thought.
So we held hands, talked a lot, and spent time together. But…
“Sister-in-law, it’s better to say a word if you’re going to be late…” Makosan scolded me. Why do I have to get upset when I’m a little late?
“Makochan is carefree because she has only one child… But that’s why she doesn’t understand the importance of spending time alone with her eldest son. So she complains even if she’s a little late. To be honest, Makochan seemed to not understand the difficulties we were experiencing.
When parting with Kotaro, Makochan was the only thing on my mind. But recently, I had a little argument with Makochan. It’s difficult to ask, but I can’t genuinely care about this. I contacted my brother.
“But it has nothing to do with Makosan.” I was surprised by my brother’s words. No matter how difficult raising children is, no matter how hard it is to make time to spend together, Makochan is a stranger to me, and I think she must have had good intentions in taking care of Kenta.
I should have known more than anyone that raising children is difficult no matter how many you have… I felt ashamed of myself.
Later, I went to apologize to Makochan. She forgave me on the surface, but I’m sure Makochan will never take care of the children again, and the children will probably not stay with me. My husband is working hard, but I can’t trust him. Parents can’t always be there to help. In the midst of this, I lost the one person who was helping me. Let’s always keep our promises, not impose our convenience on others, and express our apologies and gratitude properly. I once again felt how important it is to build trust with others. I want to apply this knowledge to my future life.
Original: Mama Star Community Script: Watanabe Tae Illustration: Yoshihana Editing: Tsukada Moe