My family returned from Shanghai, China yesterday after a five-week absence from Seoul.  I was very happy to see them, and I missed them very much.  If you’ve read my blog entries during the past five weeks, you might ask, "Are you sure?  You sound you were having too much fun."  Of course I had a lot of fun while they were away, but now that they’re home I can emphatically answer, "Yes, I am glad they’re home"  It feels right to have a stable family.  I’m happy to have my wife back and would never trade what I have for the single life.  My son changed a lot during the time we were apart.  He is now talking up a storm (mostly in Chinese), and he wants to spend most of his time with "baba" (daddy).  It warms my heart that he wants to spend so much more time with me now than he did when he left.  I can tell that he really missed me.  For example, before he left he never let me put him to bed.  Now I’ve put him to bed two nights in a row.  He is sharper, more interactive than even before, and he listens to us.  We communicate better.  We can guide him better now.  It’s wonderful to see how much he’s grown up in such a short period of time.  We’ve reached a time in our son’s life when we can mutually communicate, a window that will close once he learns how not to listen to us. 

Life won’t be as unfettered for me as it was when I was here alone.  I can’t go out for evenings with friends like I did; at least I choose not to do so.  Still, my wife and I have decided to go out more often than we did before we moved to Seoul.  We plan to go out with friends, and on occasion, I will join coworkers and friends occasionally after work.  My wife can go out as well if she wants to get together with friends, and I will stay with my son.   We still have to get him used to being with a babysitter.  He still panicks when mommy (and now baba) is not nearby.  We will trade off and either feed or bathe him to get him used to both of us at night so that he is more flexible in his routines.  My wife is also determined to be more active around the house and help out with many of the things I’ve been doing.  We’re a team.  Separation can be hard, but it can also be the start of a new beginning.  Life is very good for us, but we know that it can always be better.  Now that we’re back together, now is the time for us to make the most of the time we have.