November 6, 2023: What My Wife Is Doing These Days. （妻の近況）

It took a while since my daughter and her baby came back to their home. And my wife seems to have got rid of her tiredness from looking after the baby. She is now as energetic as before and tries a lot of things for the baby. She looks very happy and seems to have fulfilling days.
As usual, she goes for work three or four days a week. In addition, she is now busy with making clothes for the lovely baby. She began to learn how to make baby clothes and goes to a school once a week. On the days, she always goes out early morning and does not come back until early evening. She also bought a sewing machine to make clothes for the baby. She also works on the baby's pictures. My daughter sometimes takes the pictures of the baby and sends them to us via Line. As soon as she finds them, she works on them to make photo books and stands. So we are happy to be surrounded by the baby’s photos.
She also has a lot of other things to do. Yesterday, she saw two of her best friends for the first time in a year. It has been over 25 years since they met each other first. It was in the Netherlands that she met one of them first. The friend, with her two children, moved near my Dutch home from Japan, but did little know how to live there. So my wife helped them get used to the Dutch life, making them get on along well.
It was in London that my wife met the other friend first. By chance, they met each other in a post office and got along on well. They all have children of the same age who got along well, too.
They have often met and chatted even after they came back to Japan. My wife is always in a good mood on the days when she meets them. And she always comes back with full energy.
She now often tells herself that though she did not like to go to work, she is now determined to go to work because the more she works, the more she can do for the baby.

　娘と赤ちゃん（孫）が自分たちの家に戻ってしばらく経ちました。妻は孫の世話の疲れが癒えたようです。以前のように元気モリモリで、孫のためにいろいろなことをしようとしています。見ていると、とても楽しそうで、充実しているようです。
　相変わらず、週に3、4日は仕事をしています。それに加えて、今はかわいい孫の洋服作りに勤しんでいます。ベビー服の作り方を習い始め、週に一度はスクールに通っています。 その日はいつも朝早く出かけ、夕方まで帰ってきません。孫の服を作るためにミシンも買いました。また、孫の写真の編集もしています。娘が時々、孫の写真を撮ってLINEで送ってきてくれます。それを見ると、すぐにフォトブックやスタンドを作っています。我が家は孫の写真に囲まれて幸せです。
　妻には他にもやることがたくさんあります。昨日は、親友2人に1年ぶりに会いました。彼女たちが出会って25年以上になります。一人の友人に最初に出会ったのは、オランダです。友人が、２人の子供を抱えてボクの家の近所に越してきたのです。でも、友人は、オランダでの暮らし方をほとんど知らなかったので、妻がオランダの生活に慣れるようにサポートしたのです。それで、仲良くなりました。もう一人の友人と最初に会ったのはロンドンでした。偶然、郵便局で知り合い、意気投合したようです。また、同じ年頃の子供がいたので、子供たちも仲良しでした。日本に帰国後も、よく会っておしゃべりしています。妻は彼女たちに会う日はいつも機嫌がいいです。そしていつも元気いっぱいで帰ってきます。
　妻の今の口癖は、「以前は仕事に行きたくなかったけど、今は行く気満々。行けば、孫にやれることが増えるから」です。