誰かが自分のためにご飯を作ってくれる

そんなことは当たり前のことではないんだなぁと、母と義母を失って初めて気づきました。

毎日ご飯を作ってくれるお母さんがいるだけで、とても幸せなことなのです。

タイトルにある5月の魚は、私の場合は鯛。

養殖の鯛が安価で手に入るようになった今でも、湯引きして生姜で食べる旬の鯛は、私にとって、とてもぜいたくなごちそうです。

今日は、20年前にこの世を去った母との思い出を英語で書いてみました。

As I was born and brought up in a small town near The Japan Sea, I used to eat fish three times a day there. 

I have lived far away from my home town for a long time and fish of the seasons still reminds me of my childhood days.

May is the best season of Red Sea Bream, “Tai” in Japanese.

 “Tai” sashimi is especially good when cooked with its skin on and served with soy sauce and ground ginger. 

In May, I often remember my mother smiling at the table and saying, “How happy we are, eating Tai at its best.” 

My mother has been dead for twenty years and I sometimes feel sad because some memories of her are fading away every year.

So May fish, which reminds me of my mother every year, is very special to me.

“Tai” is a very special fish for us Japanese, too.

The sound “Tai” is a part of “Medetai” which means congratulatory.

We eat “tai” all year around when we celebrate someone’s wedding,childbirth and all that.

My grandson was born in May last year.

I was surprised when four big “tai”s were delivered  with a congratulations letter at his seventh day.

It was from Mrs.F, my mother’s best friend.

「お母さんがどんなに喜んだかと思うと、いてもたってもいられなくて。おめでとう！」

Having a mother is a blessing and having a mother’s best friend is also a blessing.

母が亡くなって19年目のMay fishも、大切な思い出となりました。

たとえ会えなくなっても、遠くにいても、見守ってくれている愛に感謝です。