We have a lot of slow mornings here in Asia. Tim leaves for work and the girls and I usually head out for a morning walk along the narrow rice paddy roads. South Korea is known as the land of the morning calm and it’s true. It’s the most calm mornings I’ve had since Rosie was born. We watch cranes land in the fields and we talk about the different fruit growing. Koreans are working on their farms in the distance and there’s a breeze from the nearby lake that comes across every so often. It’s one of my favorite parts of the day. And I continually say to myself as we walk, “so this is Asia”. Before you get too carried away at how serene this all sounds, I bribe Rosie with her favorite pacifier and Olive usually has her foot kicked up in the back of the stroller and is fast asleep.
When Tim and I both worked full time, I often felt rushed or that I was already late for something. Late for work, late for drop off, rushed to get dinner on the table, rushed to get the girls to bed, and then to all start over. I’m sure parents across the world feel this stress and tiredness. While my transition to a stay at home Mom comes with a different kind of exhaustion- it also comes with these slow moments here in Asia.
All that being written, the rest of our day is filled with an avalanche of cheerios that both the girls slide off their trays at breakfast. The whole rest of the day I’m stepping on landmines of Cheerios that often wind up in all corners of the house. I feel like no matter what some part me or my clothes is sticky with baby oatmeal. And I answer a parade of questions about where Tim is and when he is coming home. I play referee between the two girls where the offense usually involves someone touching someone else. There are no coffee breaks and no long lunches out, but I often sneak in a little reading or a nap for myself in the afternoon.
Things are still shut down over here, so we’ve been hiking, cooking, and watching recorded college football games on Sundays. If you looked out our front door you would swear we would still be in Ohio but out our back yard it’s all Korea. I watch a woman that farms her patch of land everyday. She grows onions and bags them to sell. Her windows and doors are always open unless there is a typhoon coming, and that’s my cue to bring in our lawn furniture.
What I’m reading: I just finished “The Goal: A process of on-going improvement”. Tim’s pick, not mine. He told me it was a good fiction. Not my favorite, but our home is running more efficiently than ever.
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