Waking up mother/
Little, pleasant time/
Reflected in the fall sunshine/
Chio
Today, the third Monday of September, is designated as the Respect-for-Senior-Citizen Day in Japan.
When I wake up my 91-year-old mother and help her get ready and have breakfast is my happiest time these days.
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My greatest pastime lately is practicing calligraphy with my mother who turned 91 in July.
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I thought I would practice a lot today. However, seeing my mother nodding off sitting beside me, I myself became sleepy as well….
Drowsiness turns/
Ink slab/
Into late summer sea/
Translation and calligraphy by Chio.
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I wrote this one about four years ago after visiting the facility for the elderly my mother then belonged to for the first time for a fun event for both the elderly and their families, a little concert of reed pipes.
In every household/
Is a good-hearted oldster/
Gourd flowers/
Translation and calligraphy by Chio
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My mother wrote these on postcards for her important friends. Both of them are from other countries. My mother is much more cosmopolitan than people would normally think.
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As a little, humble present for the temple we follow and support, I asked my mother to write one letter on a paper fan, a hiragana (Japanese syllabary character). The letter is the first one of the temple’s name. As my mother turned 91 years old last month and is rapidly forgetting various things, I showed her what to write.
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Looking after an old parent is no easy task, even if you are dealing with your own mother.
According to the old lunar calendar, today marks the first day of autumn.
Unleashing love-hate/
To mom/
Autumn begins/
Translation and calligraphy by Chio
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As my first calligraphy teacher (秋山公道the late Mr. Akiyama Kodo) and my mother were both born in the year of dragon, I like visiting shrines associated with dragons.
Yesterday, I went to Shinsenen Shrine. It was a beautiful place full of agreeable atmosphere. I felt pleasant breeze blowing but unfortunately, I didn’t feel existence of dragons around, which some people with supernatural power may feel.
The photo shows my work of the letter 龍or dragon and a passage on the written oracle I got there.
Just outside your eaves/
It maybe storming/
But/
Inside your house/
Is springlike warmth/
Translation by Tomoko
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Today is my mother’s 91stbirthday. She hasn’t been very well for some time. But now she seems to be recovering her health. It is thanks, I think, to all the well-wishes and help from the people around her.
Even the rainy season feels nice and sweet/
When I cook the millet seeds/
My dear friend sent us for her/
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I have a dear friend who says she always thinks of my mother and me.
I suppose to think is to pray.
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いつも母と私のことを考えていると言ってくださるありがたい友人がいます。
考えるというのは、祈りなのだなと思います。
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At this time of the year, I seem to be thinking what would be a good present for my mother with little awareness of it.
I picked up a blouse/
Mother’s Day is coming near/
Translation and calligraphy by Tomoko
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やはりこの時期には、プレゼントは何がいいかな・・・？ と考えているみたいです。
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Yesterday, my mother did some calligraphy at the facility for the elderly (above).
About the same time, I was practicing calligraphy at home (below).
The caregiver who drove my mother home looked a little surprised to know we were doing the same thing.
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昨日、母がデイサービスで書いてきました（上）。
同じ頃、私は家でお稽古していました（下）。
母を送ってきてくださった介護ヘルパーさんは、母娘が同じことをしていたので、ちょっとびっくりしておられました。
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This month I finally got to visit the grave of my mother’s natal home. It was the fourth try since I first planned it. I was almost angry with my grandpa, suspecting if he didn’t want me to come and visit him.
When I was preparing the offerings for the ancestors, a lady came and talked to me. I was sorry I didn’t remember her, because she was one of my distant relatives.
I then had a new idea that maybe he tried to make me come at that time of that day.
In the spring sunlight/
Only dusts are dancing in the air/
What never changes/
Is Mother’s hometown/
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今月に入ってようやく母の実家のお墓参りに行きました。初めに計画したときから数えると４回目でした。もうだいぶクサっていましたよ。おじいちゃんは私に来て欲しくないのか！？ とか。
お供え物の用意などしていると、女の方が話しかけてくださいました。申し訳ないことですが、私は覚えていませんでしたが、親戚の人でした。
おじいちゃんは、この日、このときにおいで、と呼んでくれたのか？ と思い直しました。
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My mother loves clothing of indigotic color.
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母は藍色の服が好きです。
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Yesterday I took my mother to a beauty parlor.
Beautician’s hands/
Working lightly/
Cool breeze/
Translation and calligraphy by Tomoko
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昨日は母を美容院に連れて行きました。
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I was planning to visit the grave of my mother’s natal home. However, some serious affair prevented me from it.
昨日は母の実家の墓参りをするつもりでいましたが、別の要件のために行けませんでした。
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At the annual new-year calligraphy exhibition
My mother who turned ninety years old last summer did the last one letter, and I did the other three letters.
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恒例の新春書藝展にて
昨夏９０歳になった母が最後の一文字を書いて、私が他の三文字を書きました。
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My mother did the last stoke of the letter, “DREAM”「夢」to finish the work.
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母に「夢」の字の最後を書いてもらって、これで仕上がりです。
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The task for today’s practice session was a calendar for the year 2019.
As you can see, the last stroke of the letter 『DREAM 夢』is still missing.
I am going to ask my mother to finish the letter when we practice together next time.
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今日の課題は、２０１９年のカレンダー。
ご覧の様に『夢』の最後の点はまだ書いていません。
今度一緒にお稽古するときに母に書いてもらいます。
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After dinner on the eve of harvest moon, I went out for a short walk with my mother on her wheel chair and was in an ill temper a little, hoping she would feel better. As she was appreciating the huge, beautiful moon, she obviously began to feel better and peaceful.
Bright moon/
Untangles/
Old mother’s emotional tension/
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中秋の名月の前夜、食事の後で、ちょっとご機嫌斜めの母と夜の車椅子散歩に出ました。大きくて綺麗なお月さんを見ているうちに母の心もほどけて行きました。
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Today is my mother’s ninetieth birthday. We received best wishes for her from a number of people and some pretty flowers from her pretty niece.
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今日は母の９０回目の誕生日。お祝いの言葉が届き、可愛い姪っ子からは可愛いお花が届きました。
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These are the results of today’s practice session; copying practice and having a fun writing on a paper fan. For the latter, I chose the first letter of my mother’s name, 絹(silk).
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今日のお稽古の成果を並べてみます。臨書と、団扇に書きつけるというお楽しみ。母の名の初めの字（絹）を書きました。
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My mother has been hospitalized almost three weeks, and she committed to rehabilitation during that period. GOOD FOR HER!
Undergoing rehab/
Anchorage for tomorrow/
Oh, rose periwinkles/
Translation and calligraphy by Tomoko
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３週間近い入院でしたが、その間母はよくリハビリを頑張ってくれました！
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Year after year, a kind neighborhood lady gives us gorgeous hydrangea flowers. Just for a moment I thought of bringing them to my mother’s hospital bedroom. However, I changed my mind, since she will be back in a couple of days.
Girl split up/
Thrusting up/
Balls of hydrangeas/
Translation and calligraphy by Tomoko
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毎年いただきますが、今年もご近所からもらいました。
母の病室に持って行こうかなと考えましたが、２〜３日もすれば帰ってくるので止めました。
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My mother and I found this while taking a walk. I wish I could take a picture when it was stretching its neck to the maximum.
Blue heron dances/
Waiting for the rice planting girls/
To appear/
Translation and calligraphy by Tomoko
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母との散歩の途中で見つけました。ぐんと首を伸ばしたところを撮りたかったのですが・・・。
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Gerbera daisies that late Mrs. M. who was a very good friend of my mother’s gave us bloomed this spring again.
If primulas are grandpa’s flowers, gerberas are Mrs. M’s flowers.
Gerbera daisies/
Keep on blabbering/
In the darkness/
Translation and calligraphy by Tomoko
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今はもうおられない母の親友のお庭からいただいたガーベラが今年も咲いてくれました。
プリムラがおじいちゃんのお花なら、ガーベラはMさんのお花です。
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Because the task for today’s practice session was to choose and write one letter from our own name, in other words, the same as the last time, this time I chose one from my mother’s name.
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今日のお稽古の課題は、先日と同じように自分の名前から一文字とって書く、というものでした。それで、私は母の名前から一字書きました。
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In our garden, primula flowers are beginning to bloom year in, year out. My mother told me my granddad liked this flower and when she got married and came to our house to live, the flowers were already there.
My mother and I didn’t know the name and used to call this flower “granddad’s flower” until the lady next door who is a keen gardener taught us it was “primula”.
Granddad/
Is a very warm/
Stub/
Translation and calligraphy by Tomoko
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今年も毎年のように庭のプリムラが咲き始めました。母によると、祖父がこの花が好きだったようで、母がお嫁に来た時には既に咲いていたそうです。母も私もこの花の名前を知らなかったので、「おじいちゃんの花」と呼んでいました。ガーデニングがお得意のお隣の奥さまに教えてもらうまで。
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Today I paid a visit to the grave of my mother’s family, which I do twice a year.
In my mother’s hometown, I have always felt more sunlight, that is, less shaded areas, and the air with much more dusts compared to Kyoto, my hometown.
In the spring sunlight/
Only dusts are/
Rising up/
Nothing has changed/
In mom’s hometown/
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今日は、母の実家の墓参りをしてきました。だいたい年に２回のペースでしますが。
母の実家の町は、私が生まれ育った京都に比べるといつも陽射しが多くて、つまり日陰が少なくて、埃っぽい気がします。
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My mother’s name is Kinue and mine is Tomoko. I put these sounds Ki, Nu, E, Tomo, and Ko at the beginning of each line and wrote a poem.
I got this idea from a wonderful poem with a warm taste I found at a calligraphy exhibition I visited the other day.
Apparently, a mother wrote a poem putting the sounds of her daughter’s name at the beginning of each line, which I heard made the daughter so very happy. I tried the same manner.
Who are you?
What a strong bond we have had!
Like a coloring picture/
Let us continue painting together/
This picture of our lives, so VIVID/
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母の名前は、絹江。私の名前は知子。それで、その文字を行の頭に置いて歌にしてみました。
このアイデアは、先日見学した書展で、お母さんがお嬢さんのお名前でほのぼのとした良いお歌を書いておられるのを見て、ちょっと真似したものです。それで、お嬢さんはとても喜ばれたそうです。
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This is another one I sent to the exhibition. It has my own tanka and haiku about my mother and looking after her. However, as I was afraid my poetry writing was not good enough to convey my feelings and present situation, I put a commentary as well.
Star and Moon/
Facing each other like smiling at each other/
To their beauty/
Mother offers/
Gratitude/
Taking old mother’s hand/
Flying in the universe together/
Starlit night/
I was pleasantly surprised to see my mother offering her gratitude to the beauty of the Venus and the Moon facing each other as if they were smiling at each other, when I put her in her wheel chair and went out for a short walk, because she became fretful after dinner one evening in fall.
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新春書藝展に出品したもう一つの作品です。母のこと、介護のことを短歌と俳句に書いて、それだけでは拙くて分かってもらえないといけませんから解説も付けました。
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My mother and I went to the new-year exhibition of the works by our teacher and her students. My mother is smiling so delightedly. Just as the last year, I asked her to write one letter, this time “flower”.
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先生のお弟子たちのグループ展で。
今年も母に一文字だけ書いてもらいました。今回は「花」。
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I chose a tanka by Hakushū Kitahara for a collaboration work with my mother. As I did last year I asked her to write the last one letter meaning “flower”.
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白秋の短歌を書きましたが、最後の一文字だけ母に書いてもらいました。去年と同じです。
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This is what I desire the most at the moment, peace of mind. However, I definitely want to keep on challenging even for the sake of my mother who continuously gives fits to me.
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今一番欲しいもの。でも、挑戦はし続けたい。私を心配させ続ける母のためにも。
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My mother with mental disorder seems to be forgetting many things from the past. She definitely liked shaved ice, however, it doesn’t interest her any more at present.
Kindness called forgetting/
Oh, shaved ice/
Translation and calligraphy by Tomoko
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精神を病んでいる母は、昔のことをどんどん忘れていっているようです。かき氷が大好きだったのに、今では興味も示しません。
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Do you often hug your mother? This kind of physical contact is not very common in Japanese parent-child relation. However, since my mother became mentally ill, it is a daily occurrence for us. Strangely enough, I no longer feel hesitant or shy to offer a hug or express my true feelings to her.
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お母さんを抱きしめたりしますか。私は、母が精神を病んでからというもの、しょっちゅう抱きしめています。そういうことや、心の底の本音を話し合うことが不思議に自然にできるようになりました。
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Since both my mother and myself caught the flue for the first time in years, I haven’t been able to post a new entry for long.
A child suffering from flu/
Insists/
Yokai ogre caused it/
Translation and calligraphy by Tomoko
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長い間、新しい記事を書けませんでした。母も私も何年かぶりにインフルエンザに罹ってしまいましたので。
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As in the evening of January 1st around seven o’clock my mother grew fretful like a little child, I put her on her wheel chair and we went out for a walk.
Then we found the crescent moon and the evening star beautifully shining. I straightforwardly admired my own mother for her expressing pure gratitude to the stars’ beauty.
Star and Moon/
Facing and smiling to each other/
To their beauty/
Mother/
Extended gratitude/
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元日の夕刻７時頃、母が子供のようにむずかるので、車椅子に乗せて散歩に出ました。
西の空に三日月と金星が向かい合って美しかったです。母がその美しさに対して感謝していて、素直に偉いなあと思いました。
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These are for my mother and myself wishing us have a very good first dream of the year.
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いい初夢が見られますように。母の分と２枚です。
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These are for my mother’s longtime best friend who always cares about my mother.
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いつも母を気遣ってくださる母の旧いお友達のために二人で書きました。
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December 13 has been supposed to be the day when people start preparation for the New Year. I put mother’s work and mine at the entrance of our house.
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今日は１２月１３日で、事始め。玄関に母の作品と一緒に飾りました。
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The couple next door to us have been really kind and considerate to both my mother and me. Yesterday, my mother and I practiced calligraphy for the first time in months. The photo shows what she wrote for them, including as you see, something out of season.
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お隣のご夫妻は母と私に本当に良くしてくださいます。昨日は母と久しぶりにお稽古をしましたが、母は写真の色紙などをお隣さんのために書きました。中には季節外れのものもありますが。
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This festive event has now firmly fixed in Japan. I somehow have a liking for the ornaments of witches, wizards, pumpkins and what not.
Oh, Halloween!/
Only candy/
Witches’ bags have/
Translation and calligraphy by Tomoko
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この催しも日本に完全に定着しました。魔女とか魔法使いとかカボチャとかの飾り付けが何とも好きです。
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I keep taking walks a couple of times day after day asked by my mother who loves going out. Just despite myself, I made an eardrop from the flowers blooming at the side of our usual walking course and put it on my mother’s ear for fun.
Red spider lilies/
Splendor both/
In clusters and alone/
Translation and calligraphy by Tomoko
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母にねだられて、散歩、散歩の日々。思わず彼岸花で耳飾りを作って、母親をネタに遊んでしまいました。
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Tonight we could have seen the beautiful harvest moon. However, unfortunately it was cloudy. I made this haiku for my mother who loves to see the moon, especially the full moon.
Mother is eighty-eight/
Toward the harvest moon/
Is cloudy sky/
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今夜は中秋の名月のはずでしたが、ずっと曇り空。米寿を得た母は月を観るのが好きなので、この俳句を書きました。
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September 11 was my teacher’s birthday. He was born in the year of dragon, and also my mother was born in the year of that imaginary creature.
“Dragon flies up into the sky.”
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今日は師匠の誕生日です。彼は辰年生まれでした。母もそうなんです。
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After my mother wrote this the other day for my old friend, she also created this one, “happiness”. Because the creator herself loves her own work, I had it made to be displayed. I can’t stop wondering if she is happy living with me.
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先日私の旧友のためにこれを書いた後、母が書いたものです。本人が気に入っているので表装してもらいました。母は私といて幸せなのかな、と考えてしまいます。
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“Denseness” The most suitable word describing the days of my mother and myself, after all.
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濃密な日々な訳です。
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Mother in her childhood again/
Is laughing and clapping to the/
Sunshine reflected by the/
Sun catchers/
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幼子に還った母がはしゃいでる/
サンキャッチャーが弾く太陽（ひかり）よ/
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When my mother in a wheel chair and I are taking a walk, swings in a children’s playground attract my attention. I felt sorry for my mother in a wheel chair, but once when no children were there, I enjoyed playing on one. My mother was innocently laughing just like she, herself was enjoying the swing.
Just looking at the swing/
As I am in a/
Wheel chair/
Translation and calligraphy by Tomoko
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車椅子の母と散歩していると、児童公園のブランコが目につきます。当然母は乗れないのでちょっと可哀想ですが、子供が一人もいないときにブランコに乗りました。母は自分がブランコを漕いでいるかのように嬉しそうに見ていました。
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