Kintsugi

[furzicle]

Mama gazed with unabashed awe at her newborn. Such perfection! Tears of joy and appreciation streaked her face. Father broke his long habit of not showing his emotions. A heartfelt grin of pride spread across his face. This was the most wonderful day of his life

Comments

[drippedonpaper]

I love how you tied it all together with the vase at the end. I'm a sucker for a happy ending :) Have you ever been to Japan? I would love to travel more!

[furzicle]

Interestingly, at about the age of eleven, I became fascinated with Japan. But no, I have not yet been there. My Filipina daughter-in-law is pushing for a family "walk" along a famous priests' walk through Japan. One day--if the Covid restrictions lift--maybe we will do that. I hear a lot of beautiful baths are part of the deal.

[mvlady1]

What a lovely story. You were successful in drawing me in. I quickly became very attached to Takara and his life story. Wonder what will happen to Takara and Kimiko next?

[furzicle]

Obviously, they will have their own "Treasure" and that child will also go stumbling through life until he or she finally figures it out--to the best of his or her ability. And Mama and Father will dote on and worry about their grand-treasure as they did for their son. Too bad wisdom is so resistant to being inherited!

[banana_galaxy]

This felt like a rich dive into Japanese culture. With the errand as a four-year-old, I thought of the Netflix series (which I haven't watched) that explores this. The whole story felt like a deep and complete journey, and I liked the little lessons Takara took in along the way.

[furzicle]

My daughter-in-law is a Japanophile. She and I watched some video such as you describe. It is truly remarkable. When I was a child a million years ago, we walked to school alone. Nowadays, parents are SO hyper nervous1 Then again, I'm afraid our American culture is not nearly as cooperative as the Japanese culture.

[alycewilson]

I adore this piece! One of your best. All of the detail had me captivated.

[furzicle]

Thanks so much! Sometimes I feel that the large number of pieces we need to read prevents us from truly grasping the nuances of what we all write. For example, did anyone notice that my piece from last week actually referenced Uncle Sam?? Inquiring minds want to know!

[alycewilson]

I'm not sure I did. Now I'm going to have to go back and reread it!