KWONs

January 31

Parents need all the help they can get. The strongest as well as the most fragile family requires a virtual network of social supports. – Bernice Weissbourd

Being Parents has never been easy. We are dubbed as one of the most ideal parents, but there are still a lot of things that we haven’t experienced, dealt with and surpassed yet. Our children are our most cherished treasures, the fruits of our love and our legacy once we bid farewell to the world, and there’s nothing Jiyong and I want but for them to walk with good shoes on the right path.

“Mum” Isabella calls, peeking in our room.

I give her a forced smile “Come in baby girl”

Wearing a cute Winnie the Pooh pajama matched with Piglet slippers (a twenty-three year old can still be a child at heart you know), she walks in and sits at the edge of the bed. “You’re not yet sleeping”

I sigh heavily and shakes my head “Can’t sleep”

“He’s not here yet” she says, the tone of her voice worried.

Danny. I wonder where he is. I look at the clock on Jiyong’s work table “It’s already one in the morning” I say worriedly.

My daughter sighs heavily “It is…and Dad is fuming in ten folds than worried”

“Where is he?”

My husband, he’s still in rage because of Danny when I thought that I already enlightened him about it a while ago already. To be very honest, there is no need for us to get angry exaggeratingly yet, simply because we know nothing about the truth and we still have to hear what our son would say about it.

“He’s at the pool area…SMOKING” Isabella emphasizes and smirks “I hate to say this Mum…but I think Dad’s not the best person to give a talk to Danny primarily because he himself needs some scolding as well”

What more can I say? I totally agree with Isabella. Yes, Jiyong, out of the two of us, is the most effective when it comes to talking and reprimanding the children, but in this case, I really think that I have to step up with him only as a backup.

Leaving the little kids and Karielle who begged me to let them sleep in our room to Isabella, I head out to the pool area in my nightie (I forgot to slip in my robe). I’m deeply alarmed by what’s happening, but instead of panicking and going frantic for Danny’s sudden rebellion, I choose to stay calm for me to be able to think right.

“Babe” I call, making him turn to me.

Jiyong is worriedly sitting on one cushioned beach chair with a pack of cigarette, an ashtray that is loaded by cigarette butts, and a glass of whisky on the side table (He looks like a typical old-school Dad, waiting for his kid to come home).

“One…two…three…four…” I playfully count the cigarette butts on the ashtray “Five” and points at the one he’s currently puffing. “Seriously Babe…do you think Danny will believe whatever you tell him about how bad smoking is when you yourself have smoked heaps already?” I ask him, earning a deep sigh.

He pulls me to his lap and I sit on it comfortably “Aigoo…you’re heavy”

“Hey!” I protest, slapping his arm lightly “FYI Kwon Jiyong…I weigh myself every morning and I’m very proud to let you know that I’m still keeping my numbers right…your woman is still oh-so-tight” I joke, hoping to lighten his mood a bit.

“Tight?” he asks, as if in disbelief “Aaahhh….you mean your body” he says, nodding his head and all of a sudden, bursts out in laughter.

This man, I swear, still has a mind of a crazy person even in his age (hmm…Daryl and TOP are still the craziest and the wild thinkers, he’s just third in the throne).

It took me a while to get what he’s trying to say (reading between the lines sometimes is hard, most especially when you’re the one being talked about).

“Yes…yes…yes…I know…I know…I know” I say while patting his cheek from light to hard “I still have a tight body even in my age but poor me…my precious “hole” where five kids (the pair of twins are caesarian) came out is not so tight anymore” I tell him and he laughs louder “Do I care?” I ask while pointing at myself, then shakes my head “No…because my husband still likes coming in and out of that “hole” no matter how loose it is”

You see, when you’re already married for decades, there’s no need to filter your words or even think that you talk too dirty (BUT you should know where to place yourself and when to talk this way). Jiyong and I see to it that we don’t talk crap or even swear in front of our children (Oh! There’s this one time I did! It’s when we only have five kids and I accidentally said “Bull” in front of the big girls that I continuously explained to them the whole day why they shouldn’t say it or use it, for like, forever). s are for couples (or friends) only, keep your children even if they’re already teenagers and young adults out of it (you don’t want them to learn from you).

For a minute or two, my husband and I were able to go out of our heads that are full of thoughts and worries. But as if on cue, both of us end up frantic, causing us to call Danny’s friends (the ones we know) just to get disappointed bec