It’s such a lovely day today, isn’t it?
On Sunday morning, I got up around 7 a.m.
My younger daughter took Coto for a walk, and then we had breakfast together.
Playing the piano, watering the plants, and hoovering the floor are just our morning routine.

Before I knew it, both of my daughters had left home to hang out with their friends. My older daughter went to Nagoya to go shopping and spent the entire afternoon there. My younger daughter hung out with her best friend in the morning, and as soon as she had a quick lunch with us, she went to another friend’s place.

They had been having a hectic day, while I was enjoying some time outside, sitting on my small terrace and reading a book.

I ended up having some extra time for myself, but I felt a bit torn between sadness and happiness.

The Beauty of Art

I had wanted my daughters to do ballet ever since I was pregnant with my first child.

Today was their ballet showcase, which was my older daughter’s 10th and my younger daughter’s 3rd time.

I have been thinking why they started ballet…

I had a visceral experience when I was in high school. The high school I used to go was academically highly ranked in my hometown. Most of the students were very smart and aimed to enroll in prestigious universities. I was not one of them, though.

When I was in my third year, everyone was nervous and tense every day because of university entrance exams.  One of my classmates became mentally ill because of the pressure. When I saw her, something changed in me—and I think other classmates as well. We began to feel, “You don’t have to push yourself to the point of breaking. You shouldn’t focus only on studying—try to find other things you enjoy more.

Back then, I didn’t have anything I was truly passionate about. All I did was study, just like everyone else, without any doubt.

My best friend loved rock music and photography. In her room, she decorated the walls with photos she had taken herself and kept many analog LP records. I used to listen to rock music too, but I wasn’t as passionate about it as she was. However, looking back on the past, one of the reasons I became interested in English may have been because of rock music from the UK and the US.

I digressed a bit, but what I want to say is this: I have always thought that if I had my own children, I would want them to spend their energy on what they love. 

This is one of the reasons why I chose ballet for them, along with other arts like piano and painting.

Some parents focus on sending their children to cram schools rather than encouraging the arts. But I believe that arts can nurture both the mind and the body.

Today, I watched my daughters perform ballet on stage. They were not professionals, but to me, they were still absolutely brilliant.

Muchísimas felicidades !!!! 

Traveling from Japan to Mexico via the United States was tough—actually harder than I had expected. As a mum of two, the responsibility was entirely on me. It was nothing like travelling alone—I was travelling with my two precious daughters.  I had to protect them, no matter what happened. My younger daughter had just started primary school at the time, and only three months had passed. 

There were many obstacles ahead of us.

In July, a few days after the summer break began, we set off for Mexixo.

First, right after we arrived at Haneda Airport from Nagoya, my younger daughter said, “Mum, my ears hurt.” At first, I said, “It should be all right, sweetheart.” She replied, “Okay, Mum.” 

About an hour later, just after we had lunch, she said again, “I can’t stand it. My ears still hurt.”

Gradually, the intervals between her quiet moments and her complaints became shorter, and ended up crying. Her older sister was also worried about her and tried to cheer her up by talking and playing with her, but she was still not in a good mood. I said, please take a deep breath to swallow your slaiva, she did many times, but it did not work.

 I called my husband as he was working from home on that day and explained the situation. We assume that her ears were hurting because of the air pressure on the plane from Nagoya to Haneda. I had heard that it can be harder to equalise your ears on domestic flights than on international ones, so she was probably struggling with that.

He suggested that I take her to a clinic at the airport, so I did. The doctor said, “I’ll give her some paracetamol to ease the pain and some antibiotics, but there isn’t much else we can do right now.” Since she didn’t have a fever, it seemed that the problem was simply difficulty clearing her ears.

With the prescription, we headed to a pharmacy near the airport. According to the ground staff, we had to take a monorail a few stops to reach the pharmacy called Matsumoto Kiyoshi. Meanwhile, her pain was getting worse.

We managed to get on the monorail without any problems, but finding the pharmacy wasn’t easy—especially since I’m not very good with directions. The monorail box office staff said, You’ll find the pharmacy just outside Exit A. It was extremely hot outside—it was the middle of July.  We were looking for the pharmacy under the scorching sun. Summer in Japan is scorching hot. We searched for the pharmacy for at least ten or more minutes while she kept saying, “It hurts.” Finally, we found it. After we went into the cool, air-conditioned shop, we got the medicine and bought far too many earplugs just to be safe.

I don' remember how she managed to ease the pain afterwards.

It was a nightmare—but that was just the beginning of our long journey.

Today, April 5th, is Easter. After we finished strawberry picking, we invited them to our house for an egg hunt in the garden. We had lunch together at home.

While I was hiding the eggs in the garden, it brought back old memories. When my older daughter was little, she really loved the Easter holidays. When we were in Mexico, we enjoyed spring holiday called Semana Santa there. It is a celebration of the Passion of Christ (Suffering of Jesus) in the Catholic tradition, and takes place in the week leading up to Easter. I think it is a major celebration, almost as important as Christmas. 

In some Latin American countries, such as Mexico, Christianity is deeply ingrained in people’s lives. For this reason, the celebrations are large and vibrant, with many events related to the faith. 

I reckon that these traditions enrich people’s lives and bring communities and family together.

I feel this is one of the big differences between Japan and those countries. Of course, we also have seasonal events in Japan, ..Hinamatsuri for instance, but we do not usually celebrate them for an entire week, do we?

I admire their culture from the bottom of my heart. Even Easter alone, having a Easter party (Pascua) with family and friends, egg hunts, decorating eggs, and giving chocolate eggs are all very fun, especially for children. My older daughter loved these activities too. I would love to offer similar opportunities to my daughters and their friends so I used to host big parties and invite them. I even made piñatas from scratch to entertain them when she was in primary school. Now that she has grown up, it feels quite nostalgic. I’ve completely got used to living in Japan and I realise that I no longer make piñatas or decorate the living room like I used to. 

Take a moment to pause, breathe, and smell the roses. It might help us realise something, even if only a little. 

My tennis coach keeps saying, “Relax and keep your body as loose as possible. Don’t use unncessary force” to develop the correct forehand swing form, but the more I try to do better, the more tense I get. 

The same thing happens with the piano. My teacher often tells me to relax my fingers and play without using too much force. However, I find it very difficult to let go of that tension. The more I try to relax, the more tense I become.

In classical singing lessons, my teacher also keeps saying something similar- just relax your body, breathe naturally without forcing it.

Relaxing your body helps open your throat.

In piano practice, some teachers use a rubber band to help students develop proper hand form. For instance, the little finger should be slightly curved when touching the keyboard. Keeping your fingers straight can put a lot of pressure on your hand.

Here, relaxing is key to improve  piano skills.

I believe that, in any field or discipline, the ability to stay relaxed without overexerting oneself plays a crucial role in becoming a professional.

 I realize once again how important it is to stay relaxed in any field.

I've just read a book titled Atomic Habits. It is an excellent book for those who want to build good habits or develop routines to achieve their goals.

I’ve never been able to get into the habit of doing things regularly, well, excercing for instance. 

In this book, I came across many interesting ideas. 

James Clear, the author of this book, gives one of the principles of forming and sustaining a good habit. 

In a nut shell, small things mater when they accumulate.  Small actions are important. If you repeat them, they will lead to good results over time. 

James Clear uses fascinating facts about dopamine to explain how habits are formed and sustained. By leveraging dopamine, we can build long-lasting habits.

Dopamine is regarded as a ‘pleasure chemical’, but it is much more than something that simply makes you feel good.

Dopamine spikes happen in anticipation of pleasure, not just during the experience itself. 

This came as a surprise to me, because I used to think dopamine was mainly released when we are actually experiencing something enjoyable or receiving a reward. 

For example, drug addicts often feel the highest dopamine spike when they anticipate using drugs, not when they are actually high.

If this applies to me, I realise that I feel more excited when planning a trip than during the trip itself.  I feel the highest dopamine release when making a plan.

He further explains that dopamine spikes occur when we expect a reward, which drives motivation and action. A key point is the importance of anticipating a reward.

So, we can set goals that act as rewards. By establishing clear goals, we can leverage dopamine and incorporate it into our daily routines. I really think that setting clear goals is essential. Withouth it, you may fail to build good habits.

He mentions that there are four stages in the dopamine loop:

• Cue : A trigger that initiates behavior (e.g., time, location, preceeding event).
• Craving : The desire or motivational force behind the habit.
• Response : The actual action or habit performed.
• Reward : The benefit gained, which teaches the brain to repeat the action

In conclusion, he says the dopamine loop plays a crucial role in building good habits. When we expect a reward, dopamine increases and motivates us to take action. By repeating small actions and connecting them with clear rewards, we can gradually build lasting habits. So you don’t need to make big efforts, but small, repeated behaviours—by leveraging dopamine loop, can lead to good results over time. 

This book helped me understand how habits are formed more clearly and from a logical perspective. 

I have just read this book so I am doing a recap.

1. Stay away from digital devices and read as many books as possible.
2. Work out as much as I can to stay healthy.

To achieve these goals, I decided to make some changes to my daily routine.

Since January, I have started attending tennis classes. Although I used to play tennis with my friends regularly, I had never taken lessons before. My tennis swing is pretty bad to be honest, so I decided to join classes in the hope of improving my form.

The people in my class are supposed to be beginners, but they’re actually really good. To me, they don’t seem like beginners at all. The members come from all walks of life, and having a chat with them during the lessons is one of the best things about the tennis club. One of them is a cello player, and another is about 90 years old. I adore spending time and practicing with lovely people!

The tennis club offers classes twice a week. So I tried to go twice a week to improve more quickly, but since early March, the classes have been on a break. The tennis club runs in terms, —actually, there are three terms, so the first term is already finished. The next term will start again in April. I haven’t practised for a couple of weeks now.

Because of that, my body has started to ache—especially my back. It reminded me how important regular exercise is. Thinking back, while I was attending tennis classes regularly, I didn’t have any body aches at all. 

I’d like to start again as soon as possible before I forget the tennis form my coach taught me.

I have a sweet tooth, and I can’t live without sweets. Although I changed my diet to a gluten-free one a few years ago, I don’t stick to it strictly because I don’t want to feel stressed. Instead, I try to have gluten only once a week. I still occasionally enjoy foods with gluten, such as bread, pasta, udon noodles, and cake.

As I mentioned earlier, I have quite a sweet tooth, so I often bake cookies and cakes using rice flour instead of regular flour to satisfy my cravings.

Today, we took my daughters to their ballet rehearsal in Nagoya. While they were there, my husband and I (along with our little dog, Coco) went to a small local bakery. It’s located in a quiet residential area and has a lovely vibe. The cakes and cookies are displayed on an antique shelf, and they look very sophisticated and rich.

I really loved the place. My husband found this shop last year and had been wanting to take me there ever since. We picked out some cakes for takeout. 

Here are cakes we chose for today. 

Strawberry Sponge Cake :

(Japanese Strawberry Shortcake)

The strawberry sponge cake is perfect for this season. It’s a classic cake with fresh strawberries and fluffy whipped cream, but the cream was especially rich and thick, giving it an elegant taste.

Orange Tart:

We also tried an orange tart topped with whipped cream and oranges. Actually this was my husband’s choice. It was delicious—the slight sourness of the oranges matched perfectly with the cream. It had a layer of cookie crumbs at the bottom, with almond paste infused with English tea leaves, giving it a unique and lovely flavour.

Cheesecake :

The cheesecake was lovely as well. Unlike an ordinary cheesecake, this one had a richer flavour and a deep, elegant aroma that lingered in the mouth.

Eating pastries like these is one of my guilty pleasures. I feel a bit guilty cuz I am having gluten and quite a lot of sugar but it definitely brings me energy and happiness.  

Sewing isn’t my cup of tea.

I don’t have much experience, so I get a bit stressed when I’m sewing.

Next week, my two daughters will be performing in a ballet showcase. As we do every year, my husband and I have to prepare their costumes. Yes—my husband and I! My husband used to struggle with using a needle and thread, but since I’m not good at it either, he ended up learning how to sew.

I really enjoy watching their growth on stage, but what I find most challenging is making their costumes before the showcase. It requires quite a lot of skill—working with a needle and thread is very delicate and quite tough. The tutus need to be carefully stitched in layers to keep them flat so they don’t become too voluminous. The hooks have to be adjusted to fit their bodies, and the arm bands need to be made by inserting elastic so they fit properly. It’s quite backbreaking work. We need to prepare two sets for each of them—so four costumes in total!

My older daughter has been learning ballet since she was three, and she started in Mexico. My younger daughter has been practising ballet for 5 years now.

Recently, preparing for the ballet showcase has become the norm for us. It’s really hard work, but it’s worth it when I see them wearing the costumes and performing beautifully. Tomorrow, they will have a rehearsal in their costumes in Nagoya. I hope the costumes fit them well!

.

This month, I took my car to a mechanic for an inspection, and they said it would be difficult to pass without replacing the engine, which would be very costly. Sometimes, it’s cheaper to buy a new car than to replace the engine. It came as a surprise to me, but I have no choice, so I’ve started looking for a new car. I don't know why foreign cars break down so easily but their designs are lovely. We are saving up for our next holiday so need to find one that fits within our budget.