Sunday, Sept. 14, 2003.
Today's Daddy Quote: "See, I told you he'd pee on my X-Box."
The Man, the Legend,
the Lucky Husband
of one fine hapa yuhjuh.
PITTER PATTER
Oftentimes, when I get home from work and try to hug Sun Su, he'll actually swat me away or juke me with the straight arm for interrupting his current B.A.C. (Baby Activity of Choice).But when I am about to leave for work, the polarity of his tiny heart reverses. As I slip one socked toe into emotional cement blocks Kenneth Cole markets as dress shoes, Sun Su will run to my legs and grip my pants whining with such dramatic consternation that only a toddler can express.
I'll pick him up and envelop him in the space reserved between my arms, torso, and the side of my neck. Snugly, but not so tight as to tamponade his beating spirit. He rests his head on my shoulder and drools in comfort. Sometimes he'll actually pat my back before I pat his.
"Sun Su, I have to go to work," I say in a hopeless trailing whisper while pacing around the kitchen floor with him for a final five minutes. Let the beepers beep. Let the monitors monitor. Let the computerized tomography scans computerize and tomographically scan.
The chaotic arrhythmic stresses of the previous twenty-four hours and the next twenty-four to come become muted as our hearts resynchronize and recharge, despite double layers of muscle and bone between.
From these quiet paced and pacing mornings, two thoughts circulate in my head:
Firstly, that life is a series of hellos and goodbyes, elevations and depressions, strung together by periods of unremarkable semi-apathy.
And secondly, the wet shoulder is a sign of real baby love.
As my mom tries to distract Sun Su, she chuckles and recalls for the umpteenth time,"When you were a baby, you used to leave your toys in your dad's shoes every night. Every morning he'd empty his shoes and laugh. 'Those kids don't want me to forget about them,' he'd say."
As if parents need a reminder of their children. Not for as long as I live, Sun Su.
That's funny. That's like a heart forgetting to beat.
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THREE OUT OF FOUR
My brother, Mark, recently moved back to Michigan (no, it wasn't because of the stripper adventure). And since my mom lives fifteen minutes away, she has been visiting more than her usual babysitting days.
It's really good to have him back.
Although, after hearing some of his dating stories, I think it might be a good thing he does not date Corean girls ... in my neighborhood at least.
I've got enough Corean guys from church mad at me already for beating them with little Seung Mina in Soul Calibur 2. (To them it's like getting beat by your little sister.)
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PREACHING TO THE CHOIR
Just came back from a church dinner at someone's house tonight. I didn't understand a word of it nor did I have the chance if I could. Sun Su is a true mobile disaster field these days. The boy wears me out.
The first thing I saw walking into the apartment was a big poster of the movie, The Rock (with Nicholas Cage and Sean Connery) on the front wall. Hmm.
The second thing I saw was a plain red banner in the kitchen with the word "COREA" on it. Spelled exactly like that.
Yes, this house is Holy, I decided then and there.
(Even more interesting was that the banner was not from an Olympic event or the World Cup. It was just a big red possibly home-made sign saying COREA on it.)
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YEAH, FATHERHOOD HAS REALLY CHANGED ME
Exhibit A :
HYPOXEMEDUSA - from the medical term "hypoxemia" meaning low oxygenation in the blood.
(Drawn 3 months ago.)
