Seoul Survivor

I just returned from a wonderful trip to Seoul, Korea. This was the first time I had ever really travelled on my own. My husband and I had to take separate flights, he was working the whole time, and I ventured out of my comfort zone in a major way. I had a great time.

Living in a small town as I do, it's easy to get overwhelmed when you suddenly find yourself in a city of over 13 million people. It's huge, hot, crowded and definitely a culture shock. This is only the second foreign country I have ever been to, unless you count Baja, Mexico, which I suppose I would, if I could remember any of it. My friends tell me I had a GREAT time. Oh, and Canada. I've been to Canada. I don't remember much of that either, but for entirely different reasons.

At any rate, I found myself on the streets of Seoul, wandering through huge shopping districts, finding deals on clothes and bags and all sorts of things. I was in shopping heaven. Everything but shoes, that is, since my size 10s were not well represented in the stores. I wandered into a shoe store, and this little woman took one look at my feet and said, "you go back of store...BACK OF STORE," while she waved me through. The largest shoes they had were still at least a size too small.

I also was intrigued by Korean cuisine. I am a very adventurous eater. I have no problem trying anything once, as long as it isn't illegal or won't kill you. After this experience, I was rather unimpressed. I never had anything to eat that I immediately wanted to find the recipe for. Koreans eat kimchi with every meal, and kimchi is rather...pungent. It is cabbage mixed with lots of chilis and spices and is then fermented for a while. Need I say more? Most of downtown Seoul smelled like kimchi. Well, that, and other things that weren't nearly so appealing. I also verified my belief that many Korean foods were actually started as bar dares after drinking too much Jinro. LIVE BABY OCTOPUS????? I mean, really.

The Korean people in general were very nice. I am fairly certain they spent a lot of time talking about me behind my back, however. I was alone, which seemed unusual, and I am very tall, so I had no chance of blending. Every time I would leave a store, the chattering would increase to breakneck speeds as the owners leaned out of their doors to watch me and my big feet leave.

I went to the DMZ for a sobering experience. And the tour I took of two palaces was truly breathtaking.

Did I mention the shopping?

I had a great time, and I was really proud of myself for branching out and not being too nervous to leave the hotel room.

And did I mention the shopping?

TGIS (Thank God it's SUMMER)

Summer is officially here tomorrow, and I can't say how glad I am. My kids are out of school, thus reducing the insane number of car trips I have to make every day. Now my kids can annoy each in the house, rather than in the car.

Summer is my favorite time of year. I look forward to the relaxing evenings when the sun is up a little longer than normal, enjoying a glass of wine on our deck, using our grill, and watching the kids play outside. Unfortunately, I don't seem to make as much time for these things as I used to. I am, instead, inside doing laundry, cleaning the house, or just being annoyed by the sheer amount of housework I have after the end of a day of work and taking care of the kids. It's overwhelming sometimes.

So, I am making a summer resolution. I never make new year's resolutions, so I don't really know why I am doing this at all, except that I am tired of feeling like I am not making the time to do the things with my family that are important. My summer resolution: spend each evening (that it's not pouring rain, anyway) outside with the kids and my husband. I want to be outside to hear my little Ella say for the 500th time, "watch me!" as she attempts some daredevil move involving her little tikes slide. I want to divorce the kids from the TV. I'd like to play catch with my kids in the yard.

So, that's what I'll do. Make time for the things that are really important.

I'm really looking forward to this summer. Now, all I have to do is go finish that laundry.

Ah, the challenges of being a mom. I realize now that my entire life I've been preparing for this. All of my education, life experience and the advice given to me by my parents have gone into this one moment: the moment where I walk into my son's room at 9:30 in the evening and find a pair of scissors, open packages of food, toys with cut strings and clothing with new and exciting holes where there were no holes before, and I am met with the following explanation: "I didn't do it."

This is when I start wondering if I am somehow failing as a parent. Either my son is walking around with wax earplugs in his ears or he just doesn't care to listen to me. Either way, I constantly feel like I'm talking to myself. Did he get this stubbornness from me? From my husband? From the aliens that clearly must have abducted my sweet boy and returned this pod person to me?

Now, I know I wasn't always the best child. I was stubborn and once locked my brother in a toy box. Somehow, this knowledge doesn't make me feel any better right now. My husband wasn't always the best child either (this, too, is no surprise). What I really need is to figure out how to deal with a child who blames the cat for the artwork on the wall, or his sleeping younger sister for the five half-eaten apples tossed under his bed.

This weekend, we are going to be travelling so that all three of the kids can be in a wedding. Luke will be the ring-bearer, Maggie and Ella will be the flower girls. This is really starting to stress me out! What if Ella decides to throw her dress over her head, or run off with the basket? Will Luke decide to show off and be goofy? I hope that I have taught them well enough to behave at such a special occasion. Of course, I see the way they act in church, and the incident where Luke said the word "WEINER" at the top of his lungs does not bode well.

I just hope he takes out the earplugs long enough to listen to me say, "I love you."