Mason Shoma

I slept very well tonight. Maybe it was because of my little red Porsche that I brought to bed with me. A good night’s sleep because of car comfort.

Today on our walk we visited the observation deck of the prefectural office. We could see so far that we spotted a Shinkansen go by. I was so excited that I asked my teacher when it would come again. We waited patiently and watched carefully. Then I spotted another one and said, “There it is!” I was smiling brightly and was very very happy!

On the walk to the prefectural office I held on to the orange ring on our walking rope but one of my classmates wanted to use it. We had a discussion and I agreed to let him hold it on the walk back. And sure enough, on our walk back to school I remembered my promise and let my friend hold on the the orange ring.

I completely recovered from my cold and was full of energy today. When we went to the park I had a ton of fun running around with my classmates and teacher.

While taking a water break we found some interesting bugs that we took some time to observe. They were running around and having fun just like we were.

I have big plans for when I grow up. Recently I have been making statements like, “When Mason get more big and more big, Mason drink coffee.” I’ve been making statements about all kinds of things that I know I’m too young to do right now. Things that I plan to drink when I get bigger: coffee, beer, Coca-Cola, protein shakes.

Things that I plan to do when I grow up: “When Mason get more big and more big, Mason cut and cut and use fire.” I’m saying that I want to cook in the kitchen using knives and the stove. There are variations where I say that I want to use the frying pan, microwave, toaster, and rice cooker.

And of course, I have been making statements about how I’m going to drive when I get bigger. I think that is a given at this point.

Today we went for a walk to see the fallen cherry blossoms. I was not feeling very energetic today so I opted to ride in the buggy instead. I could still enjoy the cherry blossom viewing even though I was in the buggy.

We had our gymnastics class today, but I opted not to participate. I preferred to watch from the sidelines and cheer my friends on. I did so enthusiastically and with a big smile. I guess I’m more of a spectator than an athlete.

My fever went away yesterday and I was feeling much better today, but I guess I was still a bit under the weather and didn’t want to exert myself. Maybe I’ll participate more next time.

Today I helped Daddy cook dinner. We made meatloaf. There were a lot of vegetables so I needed to use my dump truck to help us cook.

The meatloaf turned out really good and I ate it all up! For dessert I got to eat popcorn. I have been curious about popcorn since I have seen it in some of my kids’ shows and songs. It was very yummy!

I know I don’t look it, but I’m sick. I have a fever and a cough. It was a very busy weekend and it wore me out. Daddy stayed home to take care of me, even though I didn’t really need taking care of because I didn’t act sick at all.

When the doctor’s opened we headed over for a check up, but it was raining. That was fine because I was excited to use my rain coat and rain boots.

We got to the clinic and I was told that I just had a cold. They wanted to be safe and checked for the flu and covid, but I didn’t have either. Boy, did I not like that nasal swab. Yuck! I cried a bit but quickly recovered.

By the time we got home after picking up my medicine from the pharmacy the morning was pretty much done. I played some and even had some iPad time. I discovered a alphabet app that I really liked. It was cute, fun, and educational.

After lunch, I didn’t want to take a nap so Daddy took me for a drive. I think it was just a trick to get me to fall asleep. It worked.

I guess I needed my rest. I slept for quite a bit. When I woke up we were at home in our carport. I asked, “Why aren’t we moving?” Daddy explained that we had already gone for our drive a returned. I was satisfied with that and we headed inside to play. Despite being sick, I was having a pretty good day! Just like having a three-day weekend!

We headed to the park today and the weather was awesome. We started off just playing on the slides, but then we switched to the main event: Easter egg hunt.

We are a week late, but better late than never. I enjoyed this year’s Easter egg hunt a lot more than last year because I think I have a better understanding of the concept: find eggs get goodies.

Just helping out in the garden and planting some seeds.

Taking a break in the nice warm sun.

Helping Daddy make some guacamole.

Building a parking garage.

At dinner I was looking at Daddy’s beer and announced, “When Mason get more big and more big Mason drink beer.” Daddy said that when I get more big in about 17 years (drinking age in Japan is 20) and if I want to drink a beer, he would be happy to have one with me.

Daddy’s coworkers came over today for a house party. I’m not really comfortable around strangers, but they figured out a way to get on my good side. They just fed me a lot of good food! That won me over.

There was a three-year-old boy, and it was hard for me to relinquish my domain to another boy. We’ve never had another boy over to the house. I actually did a really good job sharing my things. He was not used to the situation either so he kind of just made himself at home and that meant that my toys became his toys. At first I didn’t want to share anything, but eventually I realized that I couldn’t watch over everything and keep everything in my reach so I just settled for keeping the toys in my reach for me and letting him play with everything else. It worked for the most part, but he would wander over wanting to play with me and what I had. I have to admit that there was a lot of crying on my part. But no matter how upset with the situation I got, I never did anything bad like hitting or biting or anything. I exhibited quite a lot of acceptance. There were some peaceful moments where we found mutual interests and got along quite well.

But near the end of the party, when playing in my area surrounded by Daddy’s coworkers who felt sorry for me, I asked Daddy, “When these people going to leave?” It was understandable. This was Daddy’s party, not mine. All of our guests had a great time and everyone seemed to be happy to see Daddy outside of his work environment, but, if I’m being honest, I would have preferred a quiet day with just Mommy and Daddy. In the end, I survived and grew up a bit, learning that I just can’t always have my way.

I think the next time I will be better prepared and probably have more fun. For now, I was just happy to have survived the day.

One of our guests today is a baby. So I was generous enough to set up my old baby mat for the baby. But then I got to playing and remember how much I liked this baby mat. It’s been a long time since I played with my baby mat and it was nice to revisit it.

We have guests coming over today. I had to make sure to get some driving practice in and then conduct an inspection to make sure everything was squared away.

After a thorough inspection I needed a snack.

Racing at the park.

We had our English lesson with our new teacher Oliver-sensei. It was a lot of fun and it took me no time to get use to having a new teacher. He introduced himself to all of us and when he asked me my name, I told him, “I’m Shoma.” That’s all he needs to know.

We were walking to school this morning, listening to one of my kids’ songs, and there was a line, “Nice to meet you”. I heard that and I told Daddy. “Meat is yummy.”

For some reason my bed was bumpier than usual. I’m not sure why. I’m not sure I’ll be able to sleep like this.