Just when you think he has forgotten...

Stephen and I had such a tender moment today.We were visiting the swimming pool here on the Marine base with some friends. He was playing happily in the baby pool with some pool toys and needed to visit the restroom. A few moments later we were back in the pool playing and he was driving two plastic boats around side by side. Out of nowhere he starts saying "anyoung, anyoung" (Korean for hello). He pointed to each of the boats and said "Mommy, Un Woo" for the first one and "Steepin" for the second. It caught me so off guard that I couldn't understand what he was saying at first, because he has spoken almost NO (read refused) Korean in the past four months or so. He began to say a few more words in Korean while playing with the two boats and he named one of them for his dear friend Jung Woo and the other after himself. I was completely baffled and began to assume something about playing with the boats or being in the pool was triggering a strong memory for him. Strong enough to cause him to speak parts of a language he had not heard in almost 6 months. My heart broke for him at that moment and I began to ask him a few questions. He maintained a gleeful face as he played and seemed to be happy as a lark.

A few moments later Stephen needed to return to the restroom. When the door swung open, the answer to my son's cued recall was blatantly clear. As the fragrance that filled this tiny restroom stung my nostrils, I knew. Korea. It smelled just like Korea. I can't put my finger on it, but it was a smell that I burned in my memory just six months ago for our tiny son and there it was.

Oh, our sweet boy was taken back to a warm place in his heart that seemed to have laid dormant all this time. Precious. That is what this moment was for the two of us.