Taste of New Year お正月を味わう

Nano received Otoshidama, money gift from adults, for her first time from Grandma in Sendai. She grab and brought it to the mouth. 人生初のお年玉をもらい、すかさず口に持って行くナノカ。

Their house was new and warm, and Nano moved faster and freely. In this picture, she found wooden Daruma, the figure of the monk without arms and legs by training, and had a big bite.　木製のだるまを見つけて、突進して、かみつくナノカ。

We went to Sendai to meet parents in law for New Year holiday from Dec 30 to Jan 1. It was first time after 3.11 earthquake in Tohoku. Thanks to their new house, they even did not get injured at all and they were happy to welcome us. In the afternoon of Dec 31, husband drove through the area where tsunami hit. It was just 1 kiro meter from parents house and that was the port and river and area he played around in his childhood. The place was all blank. All the staff were took away and there were even no trash now. It seemed me to be flat field all my sights, but husband told me there were houses and buildings all over. We found some houses stood but close to see, we found all the windows were broken and blank in the first floor. It was filled with unnatural silence. He was speechless. So did I. We drove beside the junior high school we saw on the news. Only people who escaped to higher stories survived. I just imagined what the tragedies happened at that time and held tight Nano in my arms.
People there tried to live daily life. They tried to get over the incidents. Even for us in Yokohama earthquake and unclear accident were shocking. I could not imagine how much lives of people there has changed after that. But still the lives go on and we have to stand. All the people seek hopes to the next.
2011 was surely the hardest year for Japan. For me and husband, Nano was born in this special year and she was growing like a strong tree bud. Husband and I followed that hopes every day. It was the words that many people already said, but I recognized that it was so true that kids are hopes of the society.
For 2012, I set up ordinal goal, "find the balance of work and family. Several book projects will come true. Possibly go to family trip (best it New York)" It is our generations' rules-keep living, not losing hopes, respecting each other, being happy and uniting with family and friends.
１２月３０日から１月１日まで、仙台の相方の実家のじじさま、ばばさまに、育ったナノカを見せに行ってきました。実家は家を震災の前年に新築していたため、怪我もなく、日常生活を取り戻していました。ナノカもたくさんの人に囲まれ、とても、楽しかったようです。
買い物に出た時、相方が、港の方へ車を走らせました。小さな頃から、釣りをしに自転車を走らせた道なのだそうです。がれきの撤去が終わっていて、はじめて目にする私には、えんえんと続く広い平地のようにしか見えませんでしたが、そこには、かつて建物が並んでいたそうです。ニュースで見た中学校や、建物の横も通りました。その瞬間の事を想像する事すら恐ろしく、二人とも、言葉少なく、私はナノカを抱きしめるだけでした。遠く離れた私達にすら、ショッキングだった出来事。そこに暮らす人たちは、どれだけの傷を背負ってるのでしょう。でも、生活も家族もそこには存在している。人々は、日常を取り戻そうと、模索してるように見えました。
２０１１年は、日本にとって、確かに、つらい年でした。一方で、私達にとっては、ナノカが生まれ、生活が一転した年でもあります。この特別な年に、私自身はおろおろもしましたが、当のナノカは、お構いなしに、木の芽のように、強く、たくましく、育っていきます。その姿を見ていると、物事はポジティブな方向に向かっているように思えてきます。月並みな表現になってしまいますが、「子供は、希望」なのだと実感します。
２０１２年の抱負を、私は、あえて、「仕事と子育ての両方を楽しむ。絵本のプロジェクトを何冊か、形にする」という、現世的なものにしました。日常を取り戻して、一歩ずつ前に進むのが、私達、現役世代の今の役割だと、思うからです。
お正月は、「今ある幸せ」をあらためて、感じる日なんでしょうね。