The Chores Not Yet To Be Named (1)

 It was around 3 p.m. when the phone in my room started to ring.  I set the ringtone on the "Spring" of the well-known Italian musician Vivaldi for some reasons. Wataru, my son, once insisted that he wanted to change the ringtone to be his favorite song, probably the ending theme of his favorite anime show. However, I told him that it was mom's favorite song and if that was changed, mom would disappear with sorrow. He raised his eyebrows, showing that he was shocked by my response. "Is this song that important for mom?", he asked, with some sort of hesitance in his face.  It was rare for mom to oppose him, so he seemed to be extra conscious about his mom's course disagreement.  I nodded, without saying anything. Since then, Wataru never asked me to change that to other songs, but persisted in Vivaldi's "Spring". 

 When the song rang,  I was using the vacuum cleaner in the living room, struggling with the white, fluffy dust piled in the four corners of the small living room. I was not thinking of anything in particular but what to eat for dinner. Wataru might be exhausted as today's class schedule would have P.E. class. Perhaps hamburger steak- his favorite dish- would be great. He would be definitely delightful and would tell me how well he played soccer in the PE class, or even how well he answered complicated math questions during the class. I never got into his classrooms on the parental participation day, as it always coincides with my daytime job, but I am already aware that my son is so called star student in his classroom. Although he is still in grade 2 in elementary school- merely 8 years old, he has grown up as a pretty confident, cheerful boy. He seems to be good at playing sports, always having perfect scores on every single school test and surrounded by good friends- as he always rushes to the park nearby to do hide-and-seek with his schoolmates. On the teacher visiting day in May, soon after the starting of the new semester,  his classroom teacher- Ms. Sato, a well-experienced female teacher in the middle age smiled widely as she shared a bit about how Wataru behaves well in the classroom. "Wataru San is one of the most excellent students in my class". She said proudly as if that was her own achievement. "He is generous, cheerful and never makes conflicts with others. Whenever his classmates worry, he is the first boy who heads to the struggling ones and tries to soothe". Then she drank a hot tea I offered and smiled widely again. "I am just curious how well you brought up that boy, as you must have been extra busy compared with other moms".