Pregnancy and Car Life

As I shared in my blog recently, I’m currently pregnant, and our family will be growing this August. Time flies—it’s almost six months now, and my belly is really starting to show.

Maybe because this is my third child, my skin stretches more easily (is that even a thing? lol), but this time my belly grew so fast that just the other day some moms at my daughter’s kindergarten said, “We heard you’re due this month…” (lol).

There are still five months to go—how big will this belly get?

Through this pregnancy, including the tough times with morning sickness when I couldn’t move much, I’ve come to realize something important:

If you want to do something, you have to do it when you want to.

About a year ago, I made up my mind to “learn to drive a manual car!” and bought a BMW 320i. Now, I can even drive the Boxster and GT3. But if I hadn’t taken action back then, my enthusiasm would have faded, I would have found out I was pregnant, and

“I want to drive a manual, but I’m pregnant now, things are hectic, maybe I’ll wait until later…”

I might have missed my chance to practice driving a manual, letting time slip by, and ended up never driving one at all during my car life.

Last year, I also took my kids to the opening round of the Porsche Carrera Cup Japan (PCCJ) in Okayama, the Porsche 70th Anniversary event at Fuji Speedway, and Porsche driving schools in Fuji and Wakayama.

At first, I thought, “The kids are still small, it’s a hassle and tiring to bring them along, maybe I should skip it,” but then I thought,

“Once my eldest starts elementary school, it’ll be harder to take time off. It’s important for them to have unique experiences and meet inspiring adults while they’re still little.”

So I decided to go for it.

Traveling with kids was challenging at times, both on the way and at the events, but everyone was so warm and kind to them. We met wonderful people, and the kids said, “It was so much fun, we want to go again,” so it turned out to be a great experience.

If I had thought, “The kids are still small, it’s too much trouble, maybe next year,” I would have missed out this year because of my pregnancy and the COVID-19 pandemic, which canceled all events.

In fact, this season’s Porsche Carrera Cup Japan was postponed, and my husband’s May reservation for the Porsche Track Experience Master Course (which was canceled last fall due to heavy rain) was also canceled.

So I’m really glad we took the plunge and participated last year.

Two summers ago, we even took our one-year-old daughter to the Porsche Experience Center LA (PECLA) in the U.S..

The flight there was tough since I traveled with my 4-year-old and 1-year-old daughters alone. It was a completely different experience from going just with adults. But realistically, going to the U.S. this summer is impossible, so I’m glad we went back then.

That said, the kids will probably forget all about it as they grow up lol.

Not “Someday,” but Now

Not just with car life, but in general, if you keep thinking “I want to do this someday” or “I want to do that someday” without taking action, time just keeps slipping away. It’s not about blindly doing everything without considering the circumstances, but I believe it’s important to “act while your passion is hot, when you feel like it.”

There’s rarely a perfect time to do something, and sometimes after deciding, you might wonder, “Was now really the right time…?” But the more you act, the more encounters, learning, and experiences you gain. Life changes dramatically through the accumulation of these actions.

Unexpected opportunities can come your way, opening doors to worlds you never imagined.

Through my pregnancy, I’ve come to realize again that “there are many things you want to do later that you simply can’t do anymore.”

Actually, right now, I’m thinking of restarting my YouTube channel that I briefly uploaded to before. Not with elaborate videos like before, but something lighter, more casual, and fun for me to make.

I thought, “Well, I can wait until after the baby is born, no rush,” but my younger daughter will start kindergarten this spring, giving me some alone time in the mornings for the first time in years. Also, short drives nearby are a nice change of pace during pregnancy.

Once the baby is born, I won’t be able to move around much for a while, so I want to try it now.

This time, instead of pushing myself hard like before, I want to enjoy it at my own pace within what I can manage. That’s a new challenge for me.

Life is only lived once. I hope to cherish my feelings at each moment and keep moving forward with light steps as I grow older.