The protagonist, Mako, is a stay-at-home mother caring for her 2-year-old daughter, Mio. When her sister-in-law asks her to babysit her 3-year-old son, Kota, for an hour, but doesn’t return for four hours, Mako becomes frustrated. She vows never to watch her sister-in-law’s kids again. Mako’s husband supports the sister-in-law, causing tension. Mako decides to communicate better to avoid misunderstandings in the future. The importance of trust in relationships and the need for clear communication are highlighted in the story, as Mako reflects on the events that transpired and works towards ensuring mutual understanding in the future.
Continuing from last time. I (Masako) live with my husband Asahi and daughter Mio (2 years old). I am currently on childcare leave, but spending every day with my daughter, who is going through a difficult time, is quite challenging. My in-laws and sister-in-law’s house are about a 20 to 30-minute walk away, and we used to live at a moderate distance. One day, my sister-in-law asked me to watch over her second son, Kouta (3 years old), while she had a consultation about her eldest son, Kenta (1st grade). I was reluctant to borrow and lend too much to avoid trouble, but I decided to take care of Kouta because it seemed difficult. However, even after the agreed time had passed, my sister-in-law did not return home. When my sister-in-law finally returned 4 hours later, she was furious and said, “It’s hard with two kids. What’s wrong with being a little late?” I vowed firmly in my heart that I would never take care of my sister-in-law’s children again.
I told my husband about the whole incident, and he supported my sister-in-law, saying, “I understand how your sister feels.” I felt the need for my husband to understand the importance of keeping promises, so I made a strategy for the weekend. I told him I would return in about an hour to go to the dentist, so I decided to delay my return a little.
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry~! I don’t have much time to myself usually, so I went shopping and ended up being late.” “I said it would be 1 hour! Mio got tired halfway!” “Well, well, it was tough, wasn’t it?”
“It’s okay to go shopping, but why not send a message? And by the way, the message I sent hasn’t been read yet.” “Oh, really? I’m sorry, I’m sorry. Huh? What about Mio?”
“It was tough here, but was that…?” I said bluntly to my angry husband, “It wasn’t that hard because she fell asleep halfway, right?”
What my sister-in-law did and what my husband said. Now, do you understand how crazy that was?
“You and I are married. And Mio is your daughter. Taking care of your daughter is a father’s duty, right?” “First of all, my sister-in-law and I are strangers. I see Kouta frequently.” My sister-in-law, despite her good intentions, extended my plans without contacting me, arrived late, and complained. I was angry at my husband’s reaction as I remembered the hardships I experienced that day.
“Now, who was the crazy insensitive person?” “Both my sister and I… just die…”
Although I may have done something disappointing to Mio, I want to take it positively as a good opportunity to spend time with her father.
Trust is important for humans. When spending agreed-upon time with someone, please make a phone call. Even if you cannot contact them, apologize or thank them so as not to make the other person uncomfortable. This time, my sister-in-law said it was unavoidable that I was late and did not even say a word of thanks. If she had apologized and thanked me properly instead of complaining, my feelings might have been different.
Anyway, I’m glad that I was able to make my husband understand my feelings and get his consent on how to deal with my sister-in-law in the future, so let’s just leave it at that.
To be continued in [Episode 5].
Original story: Mama Star Community Script: Tae Watanabe Illustration: Yoshihana Editing: Moe Tsukada