Wednesday, December 5, 2012

You Can't Touch This


These boys have me wrapped around their little fingers.
 There are a lot of lonely people out there
who feel disconnected,
and lost in the space between 
themselves and other people.
This is a universal experience, 
yet borders seem to magnify it.

For reasons I haven't quite understood,
once you cross a border it's like, 
for many people,
you stop existing.  
You have fallen off the ends of the earth.

The funny part is that in a country the size of the United States,
living outside the country is sometimes closer then living in the country.

For example, 
visiting my family in Seattle
is only a 9-10 hour flight from Korea.
Yet, when I went to college in Nashville 
I was 16-20 hours away from my home in Talkeetna.
Still, folks consider my move to Korea more of a displacement.
I can tell you right now, 
it was not.

That said, 
whether I'm in Alaska, Tennessee or South Korea,
maintaining a connection with my family is my priority.
They are the light of my life and the beat of my heart.
Thankfully, they feel the same way,
and we don't let each other miss out on all the important days.

They set a place for me at Thanksgiving dinner,
and I join them at 8am via Skype.

My brother Skyping me 
from his Russian hospital bed,
even while getting a consult from his Dr
just so I know he's pulling through.

Planning my sister a surprise 30th birthday
and filling it with Skype dates for her with people 
from all over the world who miss her. 

My nephews calling from Russia 
to learn about Korea,
and to just say hello.

We make sure to have smart phones and FaceTime 
and we take each other on virtual tours of places 
the other has never been.

My aunt and cousins calling to chat about their days
and just be a family.

We use text messaging to keep each other posted
with moment to moment photo of our daily delight
and the knowledge that we are loved.

Basically, we always remember 
that the other needs the other
and that is all the heart truly needs.

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