初詣（Hatsumode（The First Shrine Visit of the Year））

大晦日は妻の実家で、みんな集合して年越しパーティー。カウントダウンして、新年の挨拶が済めばパーティーは終了です。

お正月三が日は、2日にいつも妻の実家と義姉夫婦とレイクタウンに行くので元日はまったり過ごします。今回は1ヶ月ぶりの洗車に充てました。

ところがあまりにもやること無さすぎたのか（笑）、妻から近所に初詣に行こうと提案がありました。息子も高校受験だし、神頼みか。

16時過ぎに行きましたが、参拝するのにまだ並んでいました。昨夜もめっちゃ並んでたけど、ひと段落しそうな初日の夕方でも、まだ並ぶか…

並んだ時間は30分くらいでしょうか。お参りして絵馬を買い息子の必勝（合格）祈願をしました。

我が家って、私は神社が好きなので、サイクリングの目的地に設定したりして良く行くのですが、家族ではほとんど初詣には行った事がありません。元日の初詣は「初」と思います。

そんな初物づくしの元日初詣は無事に終わりました❗️

必勝祈願も済んだし、後は本人の頑張り次第やね。神頼みはしたけど、信じられるのは自分の力、努力してきた時間は裏切らない。

最後に、息子へのエールとして、今の状況にぴったりのYOASOBIの「舞台に立って」という曲の歌詞を引用したいと思います。

「このがむしゃらな毎日がきっと願った結末に繋がっているって信じている」

「何度も何度もイメージしてきた。どんな自分も超えてみせる」

「今までのどの瞬間も無駄じゃなかったと思えた。未来の私はもうそこにいるんだ」

さぁ勝負の時だ、息子よ❗️

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On New Year's Eve, we all gathered at my wife's parents' house for a countdown party. As soon as we rang in the New Year and exchanged greetings, the party wrapped up.

Since we always go to Laketown with my wife’s parents and her sister’s family on the 2nd, we usually spend New Year’s Day relaxing. This year, I used that time to wash my car for the first time in a month.

However, maybe because we had too much free time on our hands (lol), my wife suggested we go to a local shrine for Hatsumode. My son has his high school entrance exams coming up, so I guess she wanted to leave it in the hands of the gods.

We arrived after 4:00 PM, but there was still a line to pray. It was packed last night, too, but I was surprised to see people still lining up even on the evening of New Year’s Day when things usually settle down.

We waited for about 30 minutes. After offering our prayers, we bought an ema (votive tablet) to pray for my son’s success in his exams.

Personally, I love shrines and often set them as destinations for my cycling trips, but as a family, we almost never go for Hatsumode. I think this was actually our very first time going together on New Year’s Day.

And so, our New Year’s Day Hatsumode—a day of firsts—came to a successful close!

Now that we’ve prayed for his success, the rest is up to him. We’ve asked for divine intervention, but in the end, you have to believe in your own strength. The time spent working hard never betrays you.

As a message of encouragement to my son, I’d like to share some lyrics from YOASOBI’s song "Butai ni Tatte" (In the Arena), which perfectly capture the spirit of this moment:

"I believe that these frantic, hardworking days will surely lead to the result I’ve wished for."

"I’ve visualized it over and over. I will surpass every version of myself."

"I realized that not a single moment until now was wasted. My future self is already there waiting."

Now is the time, son. Go get 'em!