Title： Walking at My Own Pace Author： Mochiko People say, “The grass is always greener on the other side.” No matter how hard I looked, the grass on the other side really did look greener to me. My friends seemed to be doing well in everything: marriage, parenting, even work. And I felt like I was the only one who could not do anything right. “You have breast cancer.” The moment the doctor said those words, that feeling became final. “After everything I’ve worked so hard for,

Title： After Searching So Long for the Right Answer Author： Akari Ever since I was a child, I thought it was normal to hold things in. I did what I was told and tried to be a “good girl” all the time. Maybe I did not even know that I had feelings of my own. Even after I became an adult and then a mother, that way of living did not change. Before I knew it, I was not only forcing myself to be patient, but also making the people around me do the same. Little by little, and very

Title： New Beginnings in the Rain Author： Sai “Tomo-kun kept saying, ‘I want Mommy to come with me,’ but he still managed to go into the classroom by himself. He did such a good job.” “From now on, you two can walk to school together in the mornings.” Today was my son’s entrance ceremony for elementary school. Sitting there with my daughter, now a third grader, chatting about little things, the ceremony felt warm and peaceful. After it ended, the three of us walked home toget