My mother works constantly. Each of her days is the same. She wakes up at the same time every morning. She has rice and miso soup at each meal. She has a nap after lunch and indulges in a hot bath every night. In between those times, she works in the farm fields. The shoes she wears in the fields are called chika-tabi. They may not provide much protection, but they are very practical—in the vegetable fields, mountains, and even at a construction site where she used to work. Eighty-five now, my mother showed me that life is not easy.