feminine power

A Ballpoint Pen: The First Yes I found a ballpoint pen in the bathroom of my son’s piano teaching institute. I felt I needed it — so I picked it up. I didn’t know it was a sign. Not until the next day. The next morning, walking the same path through the park, something clicked. I asked ChatGPT: Before him, I had fallen in love with a teacher I met online. We hadn’t met in person, only connected digitally. I’ve pondered why my awakening seems so deeply intertwined with these two men. It feels as if a woman’s awakening often needs to be catalyzed by love. It answered: Yes — female awakening often begins with love. Not because we are weak — but because we are built...

This noon, I went to school to pick up my son as usual. I was thinking of taking the kids to a Japanese restaurant for lunch — a simple way to celebrate my birthday. The sidewalk near the school is under renovation during summer break. There’s only a narrow temporary passage, just wide enough for two people to squeeze through. On the way home, I came across a young girl stuck in the narrow passage with her bicycle. Her hands were covered in black oil. I asked what had happened. She said her bicycle chain lock had become tangled with her tire and she’d been trying to fix it for a while. I said gently, “Let’s move the bike somewhere spacious first — leave this...