Confessions of a Korean-American Man in New York City

This year's Christmas was far better than last year's disastrous Applebee's Christmas day. Last year is exactly that, last year. That was probably one of the most difficult months of my entire life. So this year was much more quiet and pleasant without drama in my life. The best part of going home is seeing my parents. It's so true, you can always go home. It's a retreat from the hecticness and noise of NYC. I can recalibrate my thoughts there and be reminded of those things that should be valued the most. However, there is a personal difficulty in returning home. Many of my peers outside of NYC have a life I had hoped for myself. At my age, people are married and have kids. Quite honestly, it's something I desire much. If you've read my blog, I think I live a pretty good life. Sometimes boring, but most times not and I get to do things that many of my peers outside of NYC don't get to experience. My cuz who lives in the NYC area drove his wife and 2 kids to see my parents on Xmas day. He quietly said to me, "you got it great... you don't have to worry about anybody but yourself." I guess. I'm not sure if he was being sarcastic or funny. I once said to myself a long time ago, I don't want to get old but now I do. The beauty of being a grandparent is magnified during the holidays. You see, on Christmas day, your kids bring their kids and they all gather as one big family. That's amazing. You created this familial community. A little sex and procreation can go a long way. Yeah I live in NYC and I get to experience this and that, but having a family is the coolest thing.

So being at home was great because I got to see my parents, and I also got to celebrate the Eagles victory over the Cowgirls. I had home cooking, and not of the Applebee variety. There was almost a tense moment when my cuz and his family showed up real late, and right before the Eagles game he popped in a video unbeknownst to me. He wanted to show off his kid's musical at church. As the family gathered around to watch the video, I bit my lip and smiled. I even said a half-hearted, "greeeeeeat!" Thankfully, the kids were only in a couple songs and he didn't make us watch the entire show. Soon as the video was over, I shouted, "That was great! Bravo!" Then I quickly popped out the video and smiled to my cuz and said, "Hey, I think the Eagles are playing today. We should watch that." As we watched the game, it became very apparent to me that his kids will grow up to be musicians or artists and never excel in gym class as they had no clue as to why men in green were tackling men in blue. Even though by the end of the game, they still couldn't understand any of my explanations about how football is played, they all enjoyed watching me cheer, jeer and bite my nails for 3 hours. That's what I call family bonding.