APRIL 6th-- ah, that special day

My Mom came to America with her family back in the 1960s. Mom was, along with her sister, brother, and mother, a Korean War survivor. Mom's sister was dating an Air Force captain at the time (my future Uncle Ed-- and as you know, every red-blooded American has to have an Uncle Ed somewhere in his family tree). The family went from Seoul to Waco, Texas, and Mom needed someone with whom to practice English. Enter Airman Ned-- my future Dad. Dad's real first name is David, but everyone called him Ned, and so did Mom. The way Mom tells it, she didn't know Dad's real name until the pastor said it at the altar.

Mom and Dad married in a Presbyterian church in 1967. I think Dad was still Catholic at the time, but he's never been the type to let dogma stand in the way of anything important, and neither has Mom. So they married in 1967; I popped out in 1969; David, the bicentennial baby, popped out in 1976, and Sean made his appearance in 1979-- the same year "Star Trek: The Motion Picture" came out.

It's not easy raising three boys, even three relatively well-behaved boys like us. Because of the age difference between me and my two brothers, I learned a good bit about baby care. At age 7 or 8, I was changing poop-filled diapers and and rocking David to sleep on the family rocking chair. At age 10, I did it again for Sean, so I've never had a problem dealing with other people's poop, pee, and vomit.

Still: changing diapers does not a parent make. Momming and Dadding, these are 24/7 jobs, as my best friends (who're married and have kids) have discovered. Somehow you have to find time to do all the parenting and still be man and wife. Somehow, Mom and Dad did that. We're very lucky sons.

So in honor of Mom's and Dad's 37th (!!) anniversary, I offer the following e-card:

And you wonder where we got our sense of humor from, eh?

Happy Anniversary, Mom & Dad! We love you!

I'm far away, in Seoul
you guys are in Virginia
if my arms could reach you
they'd be over 7000 miles long
in which case they'd be too heavy to hug you
so instead of wishing for 7000-mile-long arms
let me blow a kiss your way
then lean over, and let out a loooong bahng-goo in your honor
37 bahng-goos, one for every year of marriage!

Love,

Kevin


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