Menu: Edamame & jako rice, Spinach omelet, Bacon & green bean roll, Mased pumpkin and carrot combo, Goma-konbu 

Apple wedges for dessert

The Japanese kindergarten our daughter attends to is closed for the summer as of today until the end of August. Not sure exactly why, but it has always been 21st of July when the summer holiday starts in the Japanese school year even since my time (ugh, more than 3 decades ago😳). 

Anyway our girl is off school, and making the most of this opportunity, we decided to send her to summer school to an international preschool near by. Unlike her Japanese kindergarten, this preschool offers lunches for those who wish (that come with a fee). I asked our daughter which she prefers, as I thought she may want to eat the same food her friends eat. But to my surprise she replied, “Mama’s obento”, and this means I’d have to continue to cook in the morning during her summer holiday, too. Well, maybe it was stupid of me to provide her the choice, but I must admit, when she said so, this warm sensation flew all around my body and I hugged her tightly and didn’t want to let her go (but she wriggled herself away). She likes it – my bento, my cooking. It assures me that she is happy with what I present to her. And that is a good thing to know because bento making can be a bit cumbersome and time consuming, but it’s worth it when you know it makes someone happy.

So here it is, her summer school bento, in another bento box that she used to use at her daycare, just to give her the sense of summer holiday that is somehow a bit more special than the other seasons.