February to be a busy month / 忙しくなりそうな2月 - My Actifit Report Card: January 20 2025

（日本語は後半にあります）

【English】

At the end of March, I will be returning to my parents' home to celebrate my father's 77th birthday. We are planning a family dinner at the wedding hall where my parents had their wedding decades ago.

When I contacted the wedding hall at the end of last year, I was told that small dinners like the one we are planning are only accepted 6 weeks prior to the event. Therefore, we will contact them as soon as possible in mid-February to hold the venue.... Since the cost of returning home, the dinner, and the gifts would be expensive, I increased my part time schedule for the month of February in order to earn as much money as possible.

However, early February is also the time for my elder son to take his entrance exam. Also in mid-February, I have to attend junior high school and elementary school enrollment briefings prior to my first and second sons' entrance into these schools. The part time work itself is mostly in the evening, so there is no overlap with child-related event schedules, but I am somewhat worried if my brain, which is not good at being busy to begin with, can keep up with it. I also have to file my tax return (calculating profit and loss for cryptocurrencies)!

This morning we visited a pediatrician in front of the station to treat my son's hay fever (today is Monday, but the elementary school was on a substitute holiday). My elder son has had severe hay fever symptoms since he was 6 or 7 years old, so he started sublingual immunotherapy and is now in his second year of treatment. He takes allergy medication daily, but this medication can only be prescribed for a maximum of one month. This means that we have to see the doctor once a month, which is a bit of a hassle. The consultation was simple and quick, and I picked up the medication at the pharmacy next door. This cycle must continue for another 2 to 3 years.

After leaving the hospital we visited a nearby family restaurant. My elder son's entrance exam is coming up in 10 days, and he needs to put in the last spurt of studying. Normally he studies at a juku, but unfortunately it is closed on Mondays! All nearby libraries are also closed, so every Monday he has to find a place to study. At home he can't concentrate because he immediately lays down on his bed, opens and closes the refrigerator, or plays YouTube.

The restaurant in front of this station has booth seating for one person, and many people are working or reading, which is good for studying. The drawback is that we have to order something, which costs a lot of money... I am also sitting in a one-person seat and writing this blog.

These headphones were given to my son by his grandmother for his birthday last year. He has taken the liberty of connecting it to my Walkman via Bluetooth and is listening to music while studying.

But most of the songs I have downloaded to this Walkman are in Japanese. Can we study while listening to lyrics we know the meaning of, right in our ears? Now I can't even read a sentence while listening to a Japanese song....

I suggested to him several times that music without lyrics, like healing music, would be better, but he would not listen to me at all.

But, well, I also learned English vocabulary while listening to J-POP while studying for the university entrance exam, so I wonder if it is surprisingly possible? Is it possible if we are young?

I walked all the way today, so it was a day of walking. February is going to be a busy month, so I want to spend it taking extra care of my health.

【Japanese】

3月末は、父の喜寿祝いのため実家に帰省する予定です。数十年前に両親が結婚式を挙げた式場で、親族での食事会を計画しています。

昨年末に式場に問い合わせたところ、私たちが予定しているような少人数での会食は、開催の6週間前からの受付になるとのことでした。そのため、2月半ばになったら速攻連絡して、会場を押さえて… という流れになります。帰省費用や食事会、贈り物にもお金が掛かるので、少しでも稼いでおこうと2月度は多めにパートのシフトを入れました。

しかし、2月上旬といえば長男の受験もあるんですよね。また半ばになると、長男・次男ともに中学校、小学校の入学説明会があります。パートの勤務自体は夜の時間帯が多いので子ども関連の行事予定と重なることはありませんが、もともと忙しいのが苦手な私の脳みそがついていけるかどうかやや不安になっています。確定申告もあるし！

今日の午前は長男の花粉症治療のため、駅前の小児科を訪れました（今日は月曜ですが、小学校は振替休日でした）。長男は6、7歳の頃から花粉症の症状がひどくなったため、舌下免疫療法を始めて現在2年目です。毎日アレルギー治療薬を服用していますが、この薬は最長でも1ヶ月分しか処方してもらうことができません。そのため月一で診察を受ける必要があり、やや面倒です。診察は簡単なものですぐ終わり、隣の薬局で薬を受け取りました。このサイクルを、まだ2〜3年は続けなければなりません。

病院を出た後は、近くのガストへ。長男の受験もいよいよあと10日後に迫っており、勉強にはラストスパートをかけなければなりません。普段は塾で勉強してもらっていますが、残念なことに月曜日は休み！近隣の図書館も全て休館日なので、毎週月曜日は長男の勉強場所の確保に困ることになります。家だとすぐに布団でゴロゴロしてしまったり、冷蔵庫を開けたり、YouTubeを再生してしまったりするのでダメなのです。

この駅前のガストには一人用のブース席があり、仕事や読書をしている人も多く、勉強にも向いています。何かしら注文しなければならないので、コストは掛かりますが…。私は私で、一人席に座ってこのブログを書いています。

このヘッドフォンは、長男が昨年の誕生日にばあばからもらったもの。長男はそれを、Bluetoothで勝手に私のウォークマンに接続して、音楽を聴きながら勉強しています（もうとられたも同然なので、私はもっといいやつを買おうと思っています！）。

しかし、このウォークマンにダウンロードしてある曲のほとんどは、日本語の曲なんですよね。意味がわかる歌詞を耳元で聴きながら、勉強なんてできるものなのでしょうか？今の私は、日本語の曲を聴きながらだと文章を読むことすらできませんが…。ヒーリングミュージックみたいな、歌詞のないやつにしておけば、と何度かアドバイスをしたものの全く聞く耳を持たないので、もう諦めました。

…と思ったけど、私も大学受験の勉強中にガンガンB'z聴きながら英単語を覚えていたたし、案外いけるものなのかな？ 若ければできる？？？まあ、もうここまできたら好きにしろという感じです。

今日の移動はすべて徒歩だったので、よく歩いた1日となりました。2月は忙しくなりそうなので、体調管理には特に気をつけて過ごしたいです。

This report was published via Actifit app (Android | iOS). Check out the original version here on actifit.io

Walking