I live with my husband. Our son, Tatsuya, and our daughter, Haruna, are both grown and have families of their own. Tatsuya lives with his wife, Nanami, and their son, Riku. Nanami is a devoted mother. Watching her, I sometimes feel a little nervous for her, but I’ve tried to stay out of it and simply keep an eye on things. Haruna, on the other hand, has always had a free spirit. Seeing her enjoy life so fully has taught me, as a parent, that there are many ways to live.
Nanami is surely a good mother. You can tell how seriously she faces Riku and how hard she works at raising him. At the same time, she seems to be carrying something heavy on her shoulders—like she’s created strict, absolute rules of “this is how it must be,” and ends up hurting herself by clinging to them. Still, even though Nanami and I are family now, we are a daughter-in-law and a mother-in-law. Stepping lightly around parenting advice feels necessary. When I heard that Riku had stopped going to school, I found myself hoping she would reach out for help. Then, one day, I was able to take care of Riku for a while.