Pretty cute this week! I thought things felt a little less sad this time, but the financial situation really hangs over every single thing, which rings pretty true. While it was sweet to hear he could play baseball, even that had the element of kids solving how they could manage it with what was on hand. I liked that story about the unskilled kid with his fancy equipment cause that really is a believable child problem, haha.
I really felt like the moment he was talking about taking his crayons out at school when they weren’t needed he was going to get them taken away somehow, big crisis averted there
Nice to see how in the good old days children could take turns while eating sweets without worrying about Covid19 and the like . I like how the children are cooperating and do not expect any service in return when they borrow things like sweets and crayons.
Today I learned that 僕 can also mean “you”, when addressing a young boy. Confused me for a second.
I can very much relate to the excitement of having a brand new box of crayons, especially when there’s a larger than average variety of colors inside . Very funny how he had to get the box to realize that maybe the quality of his paintings was not directly related to the quality of his materials.
So our hero spends his summer vacations with his mother in Hiroshima. As they can afford going to see professional baseball matches I suppose that the reason why he was sent to his grandmother is not his mother’s lack of money but rather her lack of time to raise him properly. But then I don’t understand why she doesn’t send some pocket money from time to time, for example to finance his sport activities, his crayons or candy.
It’s mentioned in an earlier chapter that she works hard to send him money every month, I think? Probably the 運動会 chapter, because I believe it’s used as an excuse for her not being able to attend. It’s probably not a huge amount though, just enough to cover some basic expenses. As for why she sent him to Saga, it’s mostly as you say. She had to work hard all day long, and was unable to supervise him properly. He had started to run wild in the Hiroshima slums from a very young age and she could do nothing about it as she was away working. I suppose the baseball match might have been an extra treat that she would save up for, so that she would at least offer some luxuries and quality time to her son in the short time they spent together?
Just checking in to say I’ve finished ch7.
I can confidently say I enjoyed this chapter. This time it really was lighthearted and the interactions between the children was fun. Also having some luck is always nice.
Onwards to the baseball in 8 (grr I hate baseball vocab, it’s everywhere in Japan )
I was really surprised to see that too. I’d have thought they were way more jelly and wouldn’t let him borrow stuff day in day out. But probably everybody understood his situation all too well.
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. I like how the children are cooperating and do not expect any service in return when they borrow things like sweets and crayons.
. Very funny how he had to get the box to realize that maybe the quality of his paintings was not directly related to the quality of his materials. 
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