Gymnastics Day | Japanese Crackers

Weekends are supposed to be times of a little R&R and a lot of sleeping in. This weekend was a little bit different.

Saturday started like any other weekday, the alarm buzzing at a too early hour in the morning and the snooze button being overused in an attempt to gain ten more minutes of well-deserved rest. We had to get up early because there was a daycare event taking place that we needed to attend.

Thinking back to last year’s daycare day, the one with the race that I had to carry Layla from the start to the end as she cried throughout, made me all the more anxious to turn off the alarm and resume my dreams of lollipops and hand grenades (don’t ask…). Unfortunately, or fortunately, Tamie was more eager to go and got us all out of our beds and ready to go. Her parents were on their way to pick us up in their brand spanking new Prius (go Nissan).

After Tamie called the daycare to find out where the thing was actually taking place, we were all on our way. Interestingly, they had two different locations picked out, one for a rainy day and one for a sunny day. As we pulled up to the sunny day location, of course it started to rain. If only they’d had some way to forecast the weather and know that after a full week of rain that there’d be one more day of it. Ah, well.

The actual event turned out to be a bit of an eye opener. Layla, our shy, little, afraid-of-her-shadow daughter turned into a confident leader among babies. I guess standing a head taller than everyone else does something to boost her confidence. It was a huge difference from the year before, enough to make me happy we went and enough to make Tamie cry tears of joy as she espoused how proud she was to see Layla jump around rambunctiously.

We watched as kids of all ages danced and raced, but the most (or only, depending on who you ask) interesting times were when Layla was actively participating. The opening ceremonies had everyone dancing around and Layla killed. She had a race that I wish I could say she won, but I don’t really think there was a winner. Everyone who actually makes it to the finish line without help from a parent or daycare staff is considered a winner in my book.

Then the rain came. Not just any rain, a torrential downpour of typhoon-like proportions. The kids all huddled in a corner while the parents all crowded under a tree. The daycare staff scrambled desperately to get everything under cover but were too proud to accept our help when we offered it. Eventually, they moved everything and then everyone into the school’s gym where we continued to watch the kids put on a show.

More races, including one with Tamie and Layla collecting balls in a box and another with Tamie running around the gym with a ping-pong ball on a spoon, ensued until it finally closed up shop. Layla got a Mickey Mouse plate out of the deal and Tamie got some dish soap, so it wasn’t a total loss. Me? I got the satisfaction of seeing my daughter not only actively participate but seemingly enjoy herself at the same time.

Following the event, we took Tamie’s folks out for lunch to a local kushiyagi place (random pieces of deep fried food on sticks) to celebrate Layla’s success. When lunch was finished I took the girls home where they both crashed, Tamie on the bed and Layla on me. I let them sleep until 3:30, the time Tamie told me to wake her up as we were to meet up with some of her friends by 4.

At 4:30 we finally met up with Tamie’s friends. One of them was getting married the next day and they all wanted to do some shopping for costumes. Because the wedding was on October 4th, it was close enough to Halloween that they were having a costume party following the actual wedding ceremony. With cosplay so popular in this country, I was sadly disappointed with their choice of costumes – three matching headpieces that looked like takoyaki (octopus balls).

After the long, arduous shopping adventure, we headed for a restaurant for a quick bite to eat and a mug or two of beer. I didn’t realize how tired I was until after we got home and I fell asleep on Layla’s floor when putting her to bed… and then on the couch after Tamie woke me up and brought me to the living room. Looking back, I should have taken a siesta with the girls in the afternoon… nothing a couple beer didn’t fix =)

Sunday, the day of the wedding, and Tamie was up and gone by 10:30. Layla and I were together again for another adventure in Ebina. I took her to Vina Walk (as usual) to see dogs and babies (as usual), but this time she wasn’t feeling all that well so we came home after not too long. She slept for three hours while I watched the latest Star Trek. (cool movie). When she woke up, I took her to the park where she proceeded to climb up ladders and slide down slides, run from dogs and blow bubbles in the wind.

The laughter and joy came to a sudden, screeching halt when Layla was running and fell, scraping her hands and her knees on the pavement. Considering how often she does it, either she’s going to toughen up, get better balance or we’re going to have to get her some knee pads and wrist guards. I carried her home, stopping only to get the poor kid some ice cream at the grocery store. We had dinner, played and eventually she went to bed.

And, that, mon amis, is that.