OBACHAN'S SCRIBBLES

I spent the weekend in my hometown with my parents, my younger sister’s two kids and her husband. When we spend some time together at my parents’ house like this, all adult members have to share the duty of playing games with the kids. Last year, it was a card game played with the cards with some anime characters printed on, and this year it was shogi (Japanese chess) and othello game.

It’s amazing how fast the kids learn the rules of the games, and how long their enthusiasm can last. Every morning they came to me with stars in their eyes and game boards in their hands to plead me to play a couple of different shogi games and othello. To stay sane, you really need to be able to answer tactfully. I kept saying, “OK, after you finish your homework,” “OK, after I finish helping your mom and grandma cooking lunch,” “Yeah, let’s play after we finish lunch… and dessert… and taking a nap… ” :P And of course, there were other major events such as swimming in the ocean, barbecuing, shopping, fireworks, etc. between cooking and baking which the kids insisted to help with.

After spending eventful days with the kids, my mom always sighs -- with a relief that the little typhoons are gone, and also with a sad prediction that some day they will grow up and quit spending summer with their grandparents.