🌇 [Okinawa, Urasoe] Pre-Typhoon Shopping and an Outing with Mom | A Clear Evening and a Quiet Dinner

🛒 Afternoon Shopping and Pre-Typhoon Crowds

In the afternoon, we headed to San-A Kyozuka City to do some shopping.

We arrived around 1:00 PM. It’s usually a quiet time on weekdays, but since it was just before a typhoon, the store was more crowded than I expected. Fortunately, I was able to park near the entrance to the third-floor parking lot, so I took my mother by the hand and took the elevator down to the first floor.

When we entered the grocery section, there was still plenty of stock in the produce and meat aisles, but some items were already out of stock on the bread shelves. The instant ramen shelves were the same—it looked like the popular items were disappearing first. Pre-typhoon shopping is always like this, but judging by how crowded it was today, it looked like the sweet breads and ramen would be almost gone by evening.

I put a case each of water and tea in the cart, gathered the other items I needed, and headed to the checkout. Everyone there was shopping with two shopping baskets stacked on top of each other. Feeling this typical Okinawan typhoon-preparation scene, I realized I’d made the right decision by coming a little early.

🍽️ Lunch Time at the Food Court

After finishing our shopping, we went to the food court on the second floor.

When I asked my mom, “What do you want to eat?” she gave her usual reply: “Anything is fine.” That answer is the hardest to deal with, but after a few back-and-forths, we finally settled on “Fu-chanpuru” for her and the “Tonkatsu Set Meal (with Okinawa Soba)” for me.

We picked up our food, returned to our seats, and started eating. My mom asked for a slice of my tonkatsu, so I gave her one. Then she asked for another slice, and then another—and ended up eating three slices in total. She left about half of her fu-chanpuru, and when she said she didn’t want half of her rice either, I took it.

Looking at the result, you might think, “Why didn’t we just order two tonkatsu set meals?” But this kind of thing happens often, so it turned out to be another heartwarming lunch break today.

☕ Post-meal coffee and an unexpected conversation

After we finished eating, Mom said, “I need to use the restroom,” so I took her there. While she was gone, I ordered coffee at A&W and waited.

When Mom came back, we drank our coffee together and headed toward the elevator, where a woman standing next to us struck up a conversation.

“How old is your mother?” she asked. When I told her Mom’s age,

“She’s the same age as my mother. She went to heaven three years ago, and my father passed away last year…”

she said quietly.

As we got off the elevator,

she said to my mother, “Stay healthy and live a long life,”

and it was a brief but precious moment that warmed my heart.

After we got home, my mother said she was tired and took a nap for about an hour. It seems she was a little worn out from walking such a long distance for the first time in a while.

🌤️ A Clear Spot in the Evening Sky and Laundry

By evening, the sky cleared up all at once, transforming into a blue sky that made the morning’s clouds seem like a lie.

The sunlight streamed in strongly, and the weather was so calm you wouldn’t believe a typhoon was approaching. Since the forecast calls for sunny weather tomorrow as well, I decided to leave the laundry I’d hung out this morning out until tonight.

🍳 Tonight’s Dinner and a Quiet Evening

For dinner, I used frozen fried horse mackerel as the main dish since it was on sale.

Since I already had the frying pan out, I just fried them up and served them with a side dish of stir-fried bok choy and deep-fried tofu. I also used up some leftovers from the fridge, keeping our dinner for two simple.

After dinner, I cleared the dishes, and that wrapped up all my chores for the day.

Although there was some pre-typhoon hustle and bustle, I also had plenty of peaceful time with my mother, making it a heartwarming day.

🌈 Summary

From afternoon shopping to dinner, it was a day that blended the typical pre-typhoon hustle and bustle with relaxed moments with my mother.

• – San-A was crowded before the typhoon, and some bread and ramen were out of stock
• – Lunch with my mother was filled with heartwarming exchanges, and we both had a hearty appetite
• – The warm conversation in the elevator really stuck with me
• – The sky cleared up in the evening, and the laundry dried nicely
• – Dinner was fried horse mackerel with simple side dishes, making for a peaceful evening

I’m grateful that, even while preparing for the typhoon, I was able to end another day safely.