毎年、八月の半ば頃になると、いつも、オーストラリア
の友人Ｊと、彼女の息子ちゃんＨ君へ何を送ろうかと
悩む。
J（彼女のお父さん、Ｊさんが、私の雇い主で、”秘書“の
ビザを取ってくれた
）と初めて会ったのは、彼女がまだ
高校生で、彼女の弟Ｂが中学生だった。
そんな彼女と、6年前に再会を果たした時、すっかり
２児の母となっていた。長男Ｈ君と長女Ｍちゃんと、お母さん
（即ちＪさんの奥さん）にもお目にかかった。それ以来、
年に数回ではあるけれど、連絡を取り合っている。
残念ながら、６年前に、オーストラリアを訪れた時、彼女
の父、Ｊさんは、既に亡くなられていた。もっと早くに
訪れるべきだったと後悔をした。
毎年、彼女とお母さんと息子ちゃん、娘ちゃんの誕生日に、
お誕生日おめでとうメッセージ＋こちらの近況をしたためた
手紙と、ほんの気持ちばかりの小さなプレゼントを贈って
いる。ちょっとしたものでも、届いたら嬉しいかなと思って。
が、しかし、Ｈ君がだんだんと大きくなると、彼への
プレゼントが、なかなか思いつかない。去年は、面白いと
思って、中の飲み物が霧状に噴き出す水筒にしたが、毎回、
頭を悩ませる。本当は、日本のお菓子がいいと思うのである
が、ＥＭＳで送ったのにも関わらず、到着に一か月以上
要する。忘れた頃に、いつも、荷物届いたで～のお知らせが
あるので、郵便局の詐欺にあったように感じる。なぜなら、
ＥＭＳなら、一週間、長くて１０日で届くと言われたからだ。
他（税関とか？）で、時間がかかるのだと思うけれど、
それにしてもかかりすぎ。
ＥＭＳで送る意味ないじゃんということで、今回、船便で
送ろうと思う。なかなかすぐに会える距離ではないけれど、
いつも子供達が元気でいてくれることを願う。そしていつか、
お母さんと一緒に、大阪にも遊びに来てね。
Every year around mid-August, I always find myself
wondering what to send to my Australian friend J and
her son H.
The first time I met J, (her father, Mr. J, is my employer
and got me a "secretary" visa), she was still in high
school and her younger brother B was in junior high
school.
When I met her again six years ago, she was the
mother of two children. Her eldest son, H, and her
daughter, M, I also met her mother (J's wife). Since then,
we have kept in touch each other, though only a few
times a year. Unfortunately, when I visited Australia
six years ago, her father, Mr. J, had already passed
away. I regretted that I should have visited Australia
earlier.
Since then, every year on her, her mother's, her son's,
and her daughter's birthdays, I send a Happy Birthday
message + a letter of update of mine + a small
congratulatory gift. I thought it would be nice to surprise
them with even a small gift.
However, as H is getting older and older, it is difficult
for me to come up with a gift for him. Last year, I
thought it would be fun to present a water bottle that
spurts out a mist of drink inside, but every time, I am
stumped to think about his present. I really would like
to buy him some Japanese snacks, but it takes more
than a month for them to arrive, even though I send
them by EMS. I feel as if I have been scammed by the
post office, because I always receive a notice that my
package has arrived just when I forget about it and
also, I was told that EMS would arrive in a week, 10
days at the most. Although I think it took longer
because of other things (like customs?), as EMS,
it took too long.
There's no point in sending them by EMS, so I'm
going to send them by sea this time. It is not easy to
see J and her family so soon, but I always hope that
the children are doing well. And I hope that one day
they will come to Osaka to visit me with their mother.
今朝の体重49.2㎏ 体脂肪 26.9％
