Seoraksan is a magical place. You are surrounded by colours, smells and noises. The most wonderful part about the trip to Seoraksan was how I saw myself and remembered the trips I took with my parents and Sandy.
At the time I didn't realize how splendid leaf watching was, I do appreciate the walks through the forests now. I do appreciate the quality time my family and I had on these trips. I mean, it wasn't all bad. There were only a few or almost all the times that he would get all pouty and mad because we didn't buy something. And how he would fuss about his sunglasses and how they weren't the right ones even though the ones he had on did the job. Mom would be wearing that ridiculous neon pink cap or that other ridiculous neon yellow cap...and Sandy would just sit and wondered the same thought: why the hell do we have to be here?
While I did not appreciate those trips then, I do appreciate them now. Nothing else made me realize that more than this photo of the father and son with the mountains. In our family, it wasn't a son that ran ahead of a dad. It was a daughter...tt wasn't a son that wanted to trip his sister...it was me. It was me that wanted to see how many swift kicks of leaves would bother the crap out of Sandy to the point that she would wail another yell. *sigh* "Those were the days"...sing it high and out of tune like Marge and Homer.
I hope those little boys and girls appreciate time with their parents. Nothing makes me miss my family more than to see other people with their families. And even though they appear to be extremely irritated by one another and look incredibly hideous while doing so--I hope they don't forget but appreciate. Because one day, even though they are surrounded by millions of people, they will feel sad and alone and all they will have are those memories. Only those memories will help sleep through the night...only those memories will help them feel loved even when they are in a crowded room full of people.