A little girl obsessed with magic and believing in something bigger found solace in the story of a little girl named kiki. Before I even knew what anime was I had fallen in love with Hayao Miyazaki’s story of a young witch who moves to a new town to train with her cat jiji. She goes on a grand adventure of self discovery.
Fast forward nearly 20 years and who do I find sitting on a studio ghibli display in my local bookstore? The little black cat with the purple ears that I had loved so much as a girl. I left jiji on the shelf that day. He was a little expensive, and I figured I was too old to buy a stuffed toy for myself. I walked by that little cat once a week for a month. I would pick him up, rub his ears and then put him down again. I’m sure to the clerks I looked a little lost. Maybe I was a little bit.
Then one day I brought the nerd dad to the bookstore. The nerd dad was the one who reintroduced me to the magic of studio Ghibli so many years later. I found there was a whole collection of movies I had never seen. I told him how I had walked by that cat all those times, and how much I loved him. Without a second thought he took that little ball of joy from me and he bought him. The nerd dad showed me unconditional love in that moment.
Now on days where I feel lonely I have jiji. He reminds me of love and a little girls constant desire for adventure. Thanks you nerd dad.
I love you to the moon…
Finding My Inner Nerd Mom 