Toast to Life 37 (Positive = looking forward, or looking for future)

I get trained by my children every day. On July 1st, my daughter, or high schooler, returned home at 9 pm, mistaking her train going opposite while falling asleep. I know she is quite diligent and serious, and she often should be late for studying at the school until late. 

Still, at that night, she was coming closer to home, and wife and I were waiting outside. Then saw her turning into the final corner in 100 meter distance, in rain without an umbrella on the dark road, I rushed to her, bringing another umbrella, and handed it out. But, she just grumbled, "I don't need that", and again, "I don't need that, daddy!" 

The same night, she sat on the dinner table later together with us all, raising the moment by saying , "I'm half joking, because I'm sarcastic."

With her phrase, I now knew "sarcastic" has a meaning of joking. Hats off to her.

Another day, I was watching news on NHK,  got angry at the Diet debate on COVID-19, she again scolded me saying, "don't be so negative!" I was about to spell out of mouth, "this view point should be called journalistic", but I did not. I knew she would repute back again. 

Then, it suddenly occurred to me that "negative" literally means you feeling/ looking backwards, but more specifically, you not looking to the future. So was my thought, and she was what made me realized it. 

My son is more positive: he changes his mind quickly, and even when he is sticking to a particular thing, he, literally in five seconds, forgets it and turns his focus to a new one. When studying, he sings comfortably but in poor-pitching. On top, he constantly says even to me, such as, "Daisuke (大好き)" or and "Aishiteru (愛してる)" (both seem to be Japanese translations of "I love you" in his mind). It is partly because he used to live in Singapore since two years old, and partly because. before going to the country, he had been left alone in a hospital room in Tokyo back in 2010 when he got nephrotic syndrome and admitted into the room for two weeks. 

After all, I knew vaguely that becoming positive is to turn my feeling or emotion toward the future, but I have now realized it for the first time when seeing the WORDs. The trigger was the photo above.

"Every positive thought is a silent prayer which will change your life."

It was on June 22nd when our family friends, Kim & Andy Giger in Singapore, sent it to us. Kim was my old colleague and we've been friends since I started eying for Singapore right before leaving the firm. She and husband Andy always care about us, like "do you have a business?", "is it going well?", or today "how about your treatment?" 

It was Kim who recommended a Singaporean surgeon for my wife's breast cancer in 2018.

Our ties kept going since 2012, and still are doing well through SNS, and occasional video calls. In Singapore, we did so many travels, dinners and "regular" meetings. They are still in our minds as good memories. 

When the two families met for the first time, Andy was a curator at the Singapore Science Centre. We then went together there to listen to his instant lessons. He loved, and still loves, my son especially, and taught him about bugs and cicadas in detail when in trips. Kim has taken great care of my business, even though she was in a different business. The photo below is July 20, 2012, an unforgettable Friday night. At the welcome party for us, our children met K&A for the first time, but Kim was very "welcome" motion enough to get them attached to her. The dinner table had chili crabs, which is highly famous Singapore dish. 

The last time we met the two was around in 2019, when we were invited to K&A's home and had an early dinner among six people. It was done with a "Japanese style" pot and wine. At their house, located in the southern part of the Island, there were paintings by Andy all over the walls. 

I would hope we can weave our future going forward.

(To be continued.)