OK, I get it. Raising kids is hard. Harder than I thought.

Much harder.

Throw in work, the rainy season, the virus, the insane heat and humidity of the the Japanese summer and getting out to hike even in my local hills is difficult to do.

But last night I managed to escape for a few hours (although I couldn’t escape the evening mosquitos) and hike a very modest 7kms over the three peaks trail in Kasugai, my hometown. With less free time due to the arrival of our daughter learning to appreciate simplicity has started to take on a greater meaning. Even a walk in the hills feels so much more rewarding than it did a few months ago.

Journal entries this past week have been scattered with the phrase reduce friction and that is what I’ve been trying to do. Fewer notifications on my devices, less camera gear, less time spent looking for lost charger cables and batteries, less weeding in the garden, less time spent waiting needlessly at cash machines. Less news.

Anything to free up wasted time so that moments alone on the trail and with family can be as meaningful and rewarding as possible.