Best present

I think for me, and maybe most people, it's not the value of a present, but the thought and effort that goes into it. The other night, my daughter gave me and my family the best present I've ever received.

When I came home, Erika was so excited that I could barely understand what she was talking about. She grabbed me and pulled me over to the living room where I saw this cool, purple shelf decorated with dried flowers, ribbons and felt. She proudly explained how she had cut the wood herself and then nailed it together. She painted it and then pasted on felt shapes that made out the faces of all of our family. I couldn't believe that a 6 year old could do such great work! My first thought would have been that the teacher had done most of it, but I know that her school places a lot of value on kids being creative and doing things with very little help and guidance. Her pride also told me that she had put her heart into the project.

I'll keep our shelf as a wonderful reminder of this time in our lives and the love my daughter has for our family.

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What's the best present you've ever received?

Winter break

Every year my friends come over to my house for Christmas. We eat and drink a lot while catching up on what's been going on. This year I'm going to cook a big turkey with stuffing and cranberry sauce. We'll also have pies and other dishes. We usually drink beer and wine or sometimes cocktails. Last week I started brewing a batch of special Christmas beer, so this Christmas, we can have that. Christmas beer is full of spices like cinnamon,ginger, and orange peel. Mmm. I'm looking forward to trying it.

11th post

What are you plans for the winter break? Will you study? travel? sleep under the kotatsu?

Adulthood

I've felt like an "adult" my whole life. Of course, I always knew I was a kid, or a teenager, or whatever, but even when I was in elementary school, I remember feeling like I really knew what was going on and I hated being treated like a child. It used to make me so angry when my parents or teachers would tell me I couldn't do something or make my own choices just because I was not a grown up.

In America, there is no particular ceremony or age that clearly marks adulthood. We can drive somewhere around 16, watch adult movies at 17, smoke and vote at 18 and finally drink at 21 (of course most people start sooner). At some point when I was in college and living on my own, people started to treat me like an adult and expect me to act like one.

However, now I feel like I really became an adult when I became responsible for other people - both as a teacher and a father. I can't think only about myself. My actions have a direct affect on the lives of others. I guess that responsibility really feels like adulthood to me.