THERE is NO BETTER TiME THAN NOW!

いま

ここ

THE HERE AND NOW

It's there and then now, what I'm writing about. Here and Now I'm at the computer telling about it. There and then is in my mind however, which is the only place it can be, so there and then is in the Here and Now still.

Today is Thursday.
On Thursdays I'm out the door no later than 7:40 just like any other weekday morning. Out the door and into the little white like a car only smaller Japanese driving device and on my way to the big power systems company to teach the first class of the day. From there I go to teach at a kindergarten or nursery school just like most other weekday mornings as well. Then from there, on Thursdays, there's all of 30 minutes to make it to the hood over behind Quixote to teach an adult student private lesson. My time comes next, usually between 40 minutes to an hour at the gym. Every set to burnout little rest in between it's enough. Next is the final class of the day--a class of kindergarteners that I teach for Casey's English in a rented room at ZoYama Kindergarten then home just in time to open the door for the boys before they arrive back from school.

Company class, nursery school, private adult lesson, kids class and gym the little white transportation device is loaded down with teaching bags and gym bag, white board and this and that and the other it takes a while to unload and put everything away once home. Usually I'm just finishing up that chore about the time the ever so lovely wife arrives home with the youngest girl child.

By then I usually want nothing more than to sit on the sofa or upstairs for a few minutes of vegging out on news at the computer here, but  there's usually none of it, especially not on nice warm late spring afternoons like today. Potato bugs (pill bugs) are often to blame. They're all over in our little yard you see, and if there's one thing that gets a "Kawaiiiiiiiii" (It's so cuuuuute) comment from the little girl child it's a bunch of little potato bugs. So we mull around in the yard checking on those lil fellers and inspecting the ants--did they move since we piled a bunch of seeds on their hole yesterday? Or if not in the yard then we're off for a walk down the riverbank or to play in front of neighbor kids' houses that have moms and kids gathered out front.

The rule's the same as when the boys say "Daddy let's play catch ball". The rule is, unless my life depends on doing something else or something else close to as urgent, the rule is to say "YES". It's a very easy to understand straight forward rule but when dog ass tired it's not always observed with the most gung ho attitude. At least not at first. The trick is making myself move in that direction. Thus the self-imposed rule.

Someday the now of being asked to go for a walk with a cute giggly little girl or fun loving boy will not occur so often. Someday the asking will end. No more walks. No more searching for potato bugs. No more playing catch in out in front of  the house.  But today is not, was not, that someday. Today I was asked and I gratefully obliged. I fully embraced the message on the back of the little girl's T-shirt. There is NO BETTER TiME THAN NOW! Indeed.

Soon after everyone is home on Thursdays the ever so lovely wife must get back in the car and go to Casey's English Numazu HQ to teach a "juku" (cram school) style junior high class. This would often be time alone to get things done time for me but lately the older now junior  high school boy has been staying here to do homework. To some extent the someday of not being asked to play catch ball in front of the house has already come with him. He's a junior high school kid now. He's a lot busier than before. But today he was out there with his tennis racket practicing (He's joined the soft tennis club at junior high school) so I didn't even wait to be asked. I grabbed the ever so lovely wife's old tennis racket out of the shed and we played and played and played...

He hits the ball I hit the ball the ball hits the neighbors car he hits the ball the ball hits the neighbors roof I hit the ball he hits the ball I hit the ball the ball hits the house window and on and on and on.

Neither one of us are all that great at tennis but that had no effect on the THERE is NO BETTER TiME THAN NOW-ness of the moment at all.

The moral of this Thursday recap? The lesson in this tale of my day?
Say yes to the now.
It's always NOW!