Our New Little Nephew From South Korea

We met our Korean little nephew on Wednesday! A whole group of excited extended family met at our house from around the state. Then piling into several vehicles, most of us raced down to the airport. My daughter’s excitement to meet her new cousin Jack was overwhelming to her, and her small cardboard cup of chai tea that Grandpa had bought for her kept splashing small drops onto Grandpa’s upholstery. (Aiye!)

At the airport, we parked and waited at the bottom of the glass doors, watching each pair of feet descend. Trying to guess who was family by their shoes and pant legs coming into view by the escalator is very interesting, but the minutes scraped slowly by. My daughter held a “It’s a Boy!” mylar balloon. My son had had two balloons also but passed them on to me as his excitement grew too much. Squatting down on the floor, he stared pensively up at the escalators behind the security glass.

Then suddenly, yells, cries of delight, hugs, tears, and little Jack was here. My sister in law, brother in law, and two nieces looked exhausted and jet lagged, but happy. And hanging from a shoulder-carrier on my sister in law, was our adorable, chubby, little 9 month old nephew. Thick round jowels, his mouth slack and open in his deep sleep; long dark hair soft under our hands. He was dressed in a blue hoody sweatpants outfit. My sister in law started to cry happily. “I didn’t cry a lot earlier,” she laughed. “I’m not sure why I’m crying now.”

Later in the car ride back to our house to hang out with more family for the day, my nephew woke up. Not recognizing our English, he liked hearing his own Korean name. So, striving to pronounce it right, I said his name over and over to him, watching him smile in recognition and delight.

I got to hold him later. His thick, round thighs and legs were wonderful! “You can’t really see his knee caps,” laughed my son proudly. John seems to be able to make Jack laugh. That Thursday morning, we four adults woke up to the sound of children giggling and laughing. Walking groggily into the living room, I saw the four older kids crowded around our littlest Korean family member. Pretending to sneeze, John and the other kids were sending Jack into gales of laughter. We watched quietly, eager to capture this moment in our memories….