By Mitsue Finch Uchida
☆ 日本語・多言語の人材紹介派遣はアクセスアポイントメントへご相談ください Access Appointments for Japanese speaking recruitment ☆
(Please scroll below for the English version)
皆さま、今年も残すところ1カ月といつの間にか年の瀬が近づいてきました。先月は『秋はどこに…』気温が20度を超す云々と言っていたら、一気に11月に入ってから気温が下がってきている今日この頃。いよいよ冬がやって来たと思ったら、先生やお坊さんが忙しく走る季節、そして私達もクリスマス、望(忘)年会、お正月と色んな行事が待っている12月、師走ですね。お変わりございませんでしょうか。
私はこの月になるとどうしても一年を少し振り返ってみるのだ。そこで、2023年12月の歳時記を読んでみて、個人的には、そうか、去年は私の家の改築中、そしてSEロンドンに仮住まいしていた。何歳からでも筋肉はつくと信じてやり始めた筋トレも半年。また、改築中の家のペイントの色の意味合い、バラエティーに富んだ色たちに魅了された。何だか2023年がとても昔に感じられる。それは現在改築した家に住み、筋トレも今も継続しているからか？
またペンキの色に関しては日々その中で生活しブレンドされていき、去年の様に魅了はされていないが、身体の一部と化し自然と喜びを感じているようだ。そして、それらの全て現在も嬉しく継続できている。これも設計士、大工さん、パーソナルトレーナーさんの称賛に応え動いてくれた私の老体！周りの方々の力添えのお蔭と感謝の気持ちが一杯に溢れる！！と12月は感謝を表す月でもあるようだ。本当にありがとうございます！！
また9月には日本へも行き、何と娘と四国を半周自転車で完走するという初めてのチャレンジが出来た。それらが今は全て過去の出来事となり、殆ど忘却の途をたどっていた。人間は忘れるために生きていると言っても過言ではないかもしれない。悪いこと、苦しいことは特に「のど元過ぎれば熱さ忘れる」と昔の人はよく言ったものだ。だから人間は生きていけるのでしょうか！そして2025年も日々カメさんの歩みでもいい、少しずつ前に進むことができれば本当にうれしい限りだ。
さて、12月と言えば昔は13日を「正月事始め」として大掃除をしていたが、最近はどうだろう。私も幼少期に普段は綺麗にしない天井とかをほうきを使って掃除をしていた。そして私の実家は製麺製造業だったので、年末の年越しそばの製造に大忙し。毎年この時期はアルバイトの学生さん達を雇っての繁忙期だった。そして必ず雪が降ってきていた。私の役目はこのアルバイトのお兄さんたちに温かい飲み物とおやつを出し、そして仕事納めの31日の午後1時に皆で年越しそばを食べてお礼とお祝いをした。素敵な思い出だ！勿論セントラルヒ―テイングなんてなく、外は雪でも身体は芯から温かかった。
二四節気の「冬至」を迎える22日は一年で最も日が短く、この日を境に段々と日が長くなる。それに由来し「一陽来復（いちようらいふく）」と言われ上昇運に恵まれる日のようだ。何となく冬至というと暗いイメージだが、福も巡ってくるようだ。明るくこの日を迎えましょう。そしてこの日から英国も暗い冬からあの素敵な春が日一日と近づいてくるので～す。
2025年は蛇年！蛇の脱皮のごとく不要なものは脱いで取り除き、入用なものは蛇の鱗の様に一枚一枚重ね身に着け佳い年となることを願いたい。そして世界が平和の鱗を一枚でも多く身につけられることを願い祈って。今年もアクセスアポイントメントをご愛顧ありがとうございました。2025年も皆さんの健康とご多幸をお祈りいたします。
内田フィンチみつえ
＊＊＊ 今年最後の愚俳句、川柳＊＊＊
師走来て 車のり師は 走り去る
大掃除 どうする自分の 顔のシミ
冬至きて 明日から春が 待ち遠し
☆ Access Appointments for Japanese speaking recruitment ☆
Hello, everyone, there is only one month left in this year and the end of the year is approaching. Last month, we were talking about where autumn would be…and the temperature was over 20 degrees, but now the temperature has suddenly started to drop. In Japan it is called the month of December (Shiwasu), the season when teachers and monks were busy running around, and we were also waiting for Christmas, Year-end parties, New Year’s Day, and many other events so we will be busy and exciting as well…
I have a habit of looking back on the past year during this month, so I read the Saijiki blog for December 2023, and personally, last year I was renovating my house. And I was living temporarily in SE London. It’s been a few months since I started weight training, believing that I can build muscle no matter what age I am. I was also fascinated by the meaning and variety of paint colours used to decorate the house I was renovating. For some reason, 2023 feels like a very long time ago. Maybe it’s because I am currently living in a renovated house and still doing weight training. happily. Also, when it comes to paint colours, I am blending with those fascinated colours nicely and I found a joy in them as they have become a part of my skin. And all of them are happily continuing to this day. I appreciated hugely to the architect, contractor, carpenter, and personal trainer! I am overflowing with gratitude and thanks to everyone around me for their support! ! It seems that December is also the month of expressing gratitude.
I also went to Japan in September, and was able to take on the challenge of cycling half of Shikoku with my daughter for the first time. All of that is now a thing of the past, almost forgotten. It may not be an exaggeration to say that humans live to forget. Especially when it comes to bad things, there was a saying in the olden days, “Vows made in storms are forgotten in calms..” So humans can survive. And I would be really happy if I could move forward little by little in 2025, even if it’s just the same steps as a turtle.
The introduction is a bit long, but in the past, when it comes to December, people used to do a lot of cleaning on the 13th as the “start of the New Year”, but what do you think about it these days? When I was a child, I often used a broom to remove soot and dust and clean things like the ceiling that I don’t usually clean. My family was in the noodle manufacturing business, so we were very busy making Toshikoshi soba at the end of the year. Every year around this time, we hired several part-time students to manage all the orders but it was always snowing. My role was to serve these part-time workers hot drinks and snacks, and at 1 p.m. on the 31st, after work, we all ate New Year’s Eve soba to thank and congratulate them. What a wonderful memory! ! Of course there was no central heating, and I remember feeling warm even though it was snowing outside.
The 22nd, which marks the “winter solstice” of the 24 solar terms, is the shortest day of the year, and after this day the daylight hours gradually get longer. Because of this, the day is said to be “”Ichiyo Raifuku” and is said to be a day blessed with good luck. For some reason, the winter solstice has a gloomy image, but it seems to bring good fortune. Let’s greet this day brightly. And from this day on, in the UK, the dark winter will bring us closer to that wonderful spring day by day. 2025 is the year of the snake! It’s the month of passing the baton from my Year of the Dragon to Year of the Snake. Like a snake shedding its skin, we take off unhappy memories and get rid of them, and like snake scales, we put on the happiness one by one, hoping for a prosperous year. And I sincerely pray for the world to have as many scales of peace as possible. Thank you for your continued patronage of Access Appointments this year. I wish you all good health and happiness in 2025.
By Mitsue Uchida Finch
＊＊＊Haiku/Senryuu＊＊＊
＊Even teacher runs in December now they drive passing away
*Major cleaning What to do about the stains on your face
*Winter has arrived and I can’t wait for spring to start tomorrow
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