4/23/2016

Seeing her again by chance

I went to the car dealer with my children for a recall and having my car repaired.

After that, since my 5-year-old daughter told me that she wanted to show me that she can do the monkey bars, we went to the park near our house.

There were some families there.

My children played the monkey bars and the slide, then they rode the swing.

I was standing next to the another mother who was looking at her daughter at the slide.

Then, my 7-year-old son started climbing toward the top bar of the swing.

Since I know he likes climbing thing, I was not suprised at him.

But a mother next to me seemed to be surprised at him and said:

"Wow! He is climbing up such a high place!"

I looked at her and was really suprised because she was a friend of mine.

"Oh, you are Hanako-chan's mother! (Hanako is a pseudonym.)"

"Wow! I am impressed that you remembered that! I didn't notice that you were next to me!"

She said.

"Yes, your daughter's name left an impression. We often met at the regional childcare support center when they were babies. Their faces have changed after growing up, so we were not able to notice each other! I was able to recall you when I saw your face! I can't believe that it has been five years alreaday! How have you been? Do you live near here?"

Her daughter and my children started playing together.

We enjoyed catching up with each other.

She told me that she is still a regular employee now, but she is considering quitting her job next March.

She said:

"I am really tired every day. I want to have less distractions. I am sorry for my daughter. She has to stay at the nursery school from early morning to late evening."

I said:

"You are great! You have been working hard for your job, family and housework well without your mother's help. I am hectic every day even though I am a part-time job worker."

She said:

"I am planning for my daughter to start going to the piano lesson and swimming school. I am not able to spare my time for her now. I really feel sorry for her."

"But she looks so friendly and has already got used to my children. I am sure that
 it is not only due to her natural talent but also due to the environment of the nursery school. I think that she is not bashful in front of strangers because she went to the nursery school since she was a baby. Her talent will be very helpful for you when she enters the new environment like the elementary school in the next year."

I told her and she said:

"I hope so."

We enjoyed talking about an hour and it was already 5:30pm.

I said to her when we were going home:

"I’m so happy that I got to see you again!"

"Me too!"

We waved at each other and said goodbye.


In fact, I prefer to be alone or stay with my family rather than see frineds recently.

It has been slightly worrying.

I liked meeting friends before I had a child.

But now, I am always busy and tired.

If I had spare time, I like to relax alone.

I was worried that I have not been able to get along well with frineds anymore.

But I really had a happy time with her.

I was really glad to know that it doesn't mean that I can't get along well with friends but that I am just busy with work, childcare, and housework.




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4 comments:

  1. Hello Kumi-san,

    Sounds as if you really enjoyed meeting old friends. I am sure another parent would completely understand the demands on your time, especially given that she has young children as well. I tend to think that if you are good at socializing with people then it isn't a skill that is easily lost and can quickly be reactivated. Also wanting your own space to think is something I think a lot of people want. A place where you can switch off, relax and read a book or study or do whatever it is gives you contentment.

    Here are a list of some of the issues found in the rest of the post:

    Part 1:

    This line:
    After that, since my 5-year-old daughter told me that she wanted to show that she can do the overhead ladder, we went to the park near our house.

    Should be:
    After that, since my 5-year-old daughter told me that she wanted to show me that she can do the monkey bars, we went to the park near our house.

    Reason: I am assuming the over head ladders are the horizontally positioned bars that children can swing across. In England these are generally called Monkey Bars. See link below for what I am calling Monkey Bars:

    https://goo.gl/Rfo9gC

    This line:
    My children played the overhead ladder and the slide, then they rode a swing.

    Should be:
    My children played on the overhead ladder and the slide, then they rode the swings.

    This line:
    Since I know he likes climbing something, I was not suprised at him.

    Should be:
    Since I know he likes climbing things, I was not surprised at him.

    This line:
    But a mother next to me seemed to be suprised at him and said:

    Should be:
    But a mother next to me seemed to be surprised at him and said:

    This line:
    I looked at her and really suprised because she was a friend of mine.

    Should be:
    I looked at her and was really surprised because she was a friend of mine.

    This line:
    "Wow! I am impressed that you remembered that! I didn't notice that you are next to me!"

    Should be:
    "Wow! I am impressed that you remembered that! I didn't notice that you were next to me!"

    Or:
    "Wow! I am impressed that you remembered that! I didn't notice that is was you next to me!"

    This line:
    "Yes, your daughter's name is remaining in my impression. We often met at the regional childcare support center when they were babies. They have changed their faces after growing up, so we were not able to notice each other! I was able to recall you when I saw your face! I can't believe that it has been five years alreaday! How have you been? Do you live near here?"

    Should be:
    "Yes, your daughter's name left an impression. We often met at the regional childcare support center when they were babies. Their faces have changed after growing up, so we were not able to notice each other! I was able to recall you when I saw your face! I can't believe that it has been five years already! How have you been? Do you live near here?"

    ReplyDelete
  2. Part 2:

    This line:
    We enjoyed catching up each other.

    Should be:
    We enjoyed catching up with each other.

    This line:
    She told me that she is still a regular employee now, but she considers quitting her job next March.

    Should be:
    She told me that she is still a regular employee now, but she is considering quitting her job next March.

    This line:
    "I am really tired every day. I want to have a room in my mind. I am sorry for my daughter. She has to stay at the nursery school from early morning to late evening."

    Should be:
    "I am really tired every day. I want to have less distractions. I am sorry for my daughter. She has to stay at the nursery school from early morning to late evening."

    This line:
    "I am planning that I want my daughter to start going to the piano lesson and swimming school. I am not able to spare my time for her now. I really feel sorry for her."

    Should be:
    "I am planning for my daughter to start going to piano lessons and swimming school. I am not able to spare my time for her now. I really feel sorry for her."

    This line:
    "But she looks so friendly and has already got used to my children. I am sure that it is not only due to her natural talent but also due to the environment of the nursery school. I think that she is not bashful in front of strangers because she went to the nursery school since she was a baby. Her talent is very helpful for you when she will enter the new environment like the elementary school in next year."

    Should be:
    "But she looks so friendly and has already got used to my children. I am sure that it is not only due to her natural talent but also due to the environment of the nursery school. I think that she is not bashful in front of strangers because she went to the nursery school since she was a baby. Her talent will be very helpful to you when she enters a new environment like the elementary school in the next year."

    This line:
    We waved our hands each other.

    Should be:
    We waved at each other and said goodbye.

    Or:
    We waved and went our separate ways.

    This line:
    In fact, I prefer to stay alone or stay with my family rather than to see frineds recently.

    Should be:
    In fact, I prefer to be alone or stay with my family rather than see friends recently.

    This line:
    It has been my tiny worry.

    Should be:
    It has been slightly worrying.

    Or:
    This has worried me a tiny bit.

    This line:
    If I had a spare time, I would like to relax alone.

    Should be:
    If I have spare time, I like to relax alone.

    This line:
    I was worried that I have not been able to get along well with frineds any more.

    Should be:
    I was worried that I have not been able to get along well with friends anymore.

    This line:
    I was really glad to know that it doesn't mean that I can't get along well with friends but I am just only under the busy situation which needs to handle work, childcare, and housework.

    Should be:
    I was really glad to know that it doesn't mean that I can't get along well with friends but that I am just busy with work, childcare, and housework.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hello Terry.
      Thank you for your kind word.
      And I also thank you a lot of corrections!

      I think maybe monkey bars and overhead ladders are same.
      I can also find many images of overhead ladders in Google image search.
      It is very interesting that the differences of what it is called.

      Thank you so much!

      Delete
    2. Hello Kumi-san,

      On the Monkey Bars issues I should make clear that it is what we call them in England only, in other places they may call them a lot of other things. It is still clear what you mean no matter which wording you use. So do not worry about it.

      Overhead Bars/Overhead Ladders I think but am not certain they are American words so nearer to American English rather than British English. In any event it is not something to worry about.

      It does unfortunately make it slightly harder for a non-native speaker to decide on which version to use.

      Some of the most common British vs American words that I know are:

      American: Trash
      English: Garbage

      American: Trash Can
      English: Bin

      American: Sidewalk
      English: Pavement

      American: Freeway
      English: Motorway

      American: Convenience Store/Store
      English: Corner Shop/Shop/Store/Paper Shop (Because there are often News Papers, this is old and going out of use)

      American: Pharmacy/ Pharmacist
      English: Chemists

      American: Vacation
      English: Holiday

      American: Dumpster
      English: Skip

      It's worth pointing out that the division between English and American words is very rapidly disappearing because of American cultural influences. So all the American versions of words are known and used in English, just not as often. Though American will likely win out eventually. Although I am sure you knew this already given how many foreign words have been added into Japanese :)

      If you want a list of the differences in words used between American and English this link seems to offer some good information (though for from complete):

      http://projectbritain.com/americanbritish/index.html

      Delete