Typhoon 15 hit just before 4 am. The metal shutters that we had pulled before bed rattled and shook with each blast of wind. The wind would slam rain against the shutters, sounding like nails being tossed into a bucket.
I kept having thoughts of my son being frightened or not being safe. After half an hour, I went to his room and brought him back to ours. If we were going to be blown away, we could do it together. My son took turns snuggling with me and my husband as he tried to fall back asleep. He was finally successful in going back to dream land. I, however, was not so lucky. I laid there and listened to the storm, imagining the horrors going on outside, until after 6:30 am when I finally fell back asleep. (If you think my fears are overly dramatic, 3 people died in this typhoon and over 40 people injured as reported by Japan Times.)
My son woke me up at 8 am when my husband was heading to the office. I needed to get up to get everything done before it was time for us to walk to his school. Opening all the shutters, I was shocked to not see any damage. My pots in the rock garden were still in place and nothing seemed amiss. I filled his bento box and made sure he completed all the school prep tasks (putting together his backpack and personal care). As we were wrapping everything up, my husband texted me to say school was delayed due to the typhoon, pushing back the start time to 11 am.
Trying to think of how to fill the next two hours, my son asked if we could go to the park. He suggested we could clean up the paths so people could ride their bikes and not get hurt. Hearing that we received 232 mm (over 9 inches) of rain and gusts of winds were recorded at 180 kph (112 mph) during the storm meant the park would be a mess. It also sounded like a nice thing to do, so I agreed.
Wearing some work gloves, he walked determinedly toward the park. The streets had lots of debris, but not as much damage as other typhoons we've experienced. As soon as we arrived, he began picking up sticks from the pathways and moving them to the borders.
He cleared lots of sticks and leaves from the path, only getting distracted from his mission when he saw a bug. We found a bee eating a semi (cicada) as well as a small hive. Fascinating, but also a bit scary. There were tons of semi all over the ground, having been flung off the trees overnight.
On our way back home, we spotted the park staff using blowers to clear the main path of the park. Their assessment was complete and they were ready to begin the clean up work.
After inquiring where my son got the idea, he revealed he wanted to "be a helper" just like Daniel Tiger (a show he loved in the states) and others always talk about. He knew there was something that he could do to help clean up after the typhoon and he did it. He always makes this momma so proud.
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