What You Are Looking for is in the Library

by Michiko Aoyama

The days go by more happily when you have something to dream about. It’s not always a bad thing to have a dream, with no plan for ever carrying it out.”

I guess they became a lot more relaxed as parents by their third child.

“You have to turn that ‘don’t’ into a goal.” Turn “don’t” into a “goal”? What’s that supposed to mean? Find the funds, make the time, pluck up the courage? I see him observing me as I struggle to voice these thoughts aloud. “I don’t like being around people, you know,” he says, and gives a wry smile. Another extraordinary statement! And not one I would expect to hear from someone I’ve only just met. Not to mention someone with a customer service business, who happens to be speaking most kindly to me at this very moment. “But there came a time when I thought I ought to make an effort, and listen to what other people might have to say. Once I started to show my face here and there, I had encounters that led to all sorts of opportunities and connections.”

“Everybody is connected. And any one of their connections could be the start of a network that branches in many directions. If you wait for the right time to make connections, it might never happen, but if you show your face around, talk to people and see enough to give you the confidence that things could work out, then ‘one day’ might turn into ‘tomorrow.’”

There is no main job and secondary job. Both are equally important. That could be true for a couple, too.

There are so many things to do, but I won’t make the excuse that I have no time anymore. Instead, I will think about what I can do with the time I have.

You never know what will happen next with children.

“This didn’t just come to you. It happened because you did something for yourself. You took action and that caused things to change around you.”

I was shaken to realize that all my relationships had been business ones, and that I had no real friends after all, not even somebody to drink tea with.

one more thing I learned since retiring: if you don’t work, there are no days off. Never again will I enjoy the anticipation of freedom and feeling of release at the thought of taking time off work.