Mia in the Sping of 2002Drawing Mia loves to draw. Here are a few of the many little drawings she's done recently. These were done on post-its that she happened to come across. According to Mia this is a raccoon dog ('tanuki' in Japanese) that is singing with a microphone (karaoke). There's a speaker in the background on the right and a picture of a flower haning on the wall on the left. The raccoon dog is holding the lyrics to the song in its right paw. The death of Mia's Uncle Atsushi nearly three years ago seems to have had quite an impact on Mia. For a long time she frequently asked questions or commented about his cremation or having gone to heaven. Recently, she has started to pray for him. I think she's influenced by a little traditional offering of rice that Mariko places regularly in front of a picture of Atsushi. At any rate, Mia wrote this note saying that she loves Uncle Atsushi and frequently prays for him and then taped it to the table. As most things Mia does, this was not prompted by adults. Playing in the attic Mia also loves to play house. She does this by herself and with anyone she can get to go along. Here, she's entertaining some of her stuffed animals. Piano recital Mia performed in her first recital on the 17th of March. She did a really good job and looked great in her new dress (which was actually a hand-me-down from a friend). Entering elementary school On April 10th, Mia attended her "matriculation ceremony," that is, the ceremony to commemorate her entrance into elementary school. All of the new first graders dressed up in nice clothes and attended the ceremony with one or both parents. These two girls live very close to us and are about Mia's age (even though one of them looks much bigger). Their names are Satomi and Shizuka. Mia is wearing a dress made for her by her Aunt Junko. The yellow cap she has on is wore by first graders all over Japan. Drivers see the cap and realize (hopefully) that they need to be particularly careful. Mia is also carrying her new red backpack. Most girls have red backpacks like this and the boys usually get black ones. Our friend, Professor Nakayama gave us the bulbs for these tulips. END |