Supporting my fav seniors #13 A secret crush and productivity

“My son got me a ticket for a professional baseball game and drove me to the stadium.”

“Wow, lucky you! What a sweet son you have——the ticket, ride and everything.”

The conversation took place at a community gathering place used by local residents in their 70s to 90s.

The place was filled with excitement. As Ms. A, in her 70s and living alone, shared her story about the baseball game, Ms. B in her 80s envied Ms. A for having a devoted son, and Ms. C in her 90s praised Ms. A for having energy to go to a bustling stadium.

Then, Ms. A started blushing and quietly shared something else:

“You know, I’ve got someone at the Hiroshima Carp baseball team…My heart starts beating fast just thinking about what if our eyes met!”

These mature ladies in the conversation went silent, having no idea what Ms. A was talking about.

“You know, he’s so handsome. I know I’m fooling myself, but I can’t stop thinking that the player C heard me cheering and was smiling back at me.”

Ms. A’s secret crush on the handsome player stunned everyone in the conversation.

Ms. A explained with a smile that her husband, who had passed away several years before, should forgive her crush because she would greet him every morning at the family altar.

Looking back on my own school days, I also had a favorite young star, fantasizing myself bumping into him on the street.

I knew it would never happen, but supporting him was really fun in itself, giving me energy to dress up and to study.

In my adult life, however, I don’t recall any such fantasizing because I’ve been too busy and frustrated every day.

As I reflected on my own life, I realized something while watching Ms. A.

Ms. A must also feel sad, worried, and frustrated about many things, such as the loss of her husband and other loved ones, as well as her own health problems.

But she looks energetic and keeps on shining. Is that because she has someone to cherish and supports that person, which enables her to cherish herself as well?

“Oshikatsu,” meaning “supporting your favorite” in Japanese, is productive because you are giving your energy to someone else.

That was how I came up with the title of my blogs. Lately, I have started thinking again that it would be even better if Oshikatsu was for someone you secretly love.

At age 50, I’m about half way through my life. The first step I can take now may be to find someone I can have a little crush on.

Maybe someone nobody knows, still growing to become big…

Shino Sawaoka

Associate Professor,

Dept. of Health Management,

Tokai University

jzt1864@tokai.ac.jp

https://www.tokai-kenko.ac/

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