My son Jack Diego Kim Salud Sora celebrated his first birthday yesterday. As my brother told me, "The years are short but the days are long." I couldn't agree more. Every day since then has been a challenge and an effort, but I'm still amazed how much he (and our lives) have changed since July 5, 2015.

I can't think of much else to add, so I'm going to just repost what I typed our bleary-eyed from our hospital room at St. Joseph's hospital a year ago.

- Dwight

What a Difference a Day Makes

Originally, my wife Czerina and I were planning on a quiet July 5th, taking one of her cousin's two daughters to Chicago's Chinatown for an outing. That rapidly changed starting around 5:25 am in the morning when the first of the contractions started.

We had a little bit of a false start. I called the doctor around 8:00 am, and then when Czerina felt like the pain was spiking, we piled our pre-packed luggage and the child seat into the car and took off for St. Joseph's Hospital. However, once we got to triage in the birthing center, we were informed that we were at too early a stage of labor, and were sent back home (Much to Czerina's discomfort, since early or not early, she was having a lot of trouble moving about).

So back home we went, killing a few hours while Czerina rode out the contractions. I worked to do my best husband work: drew her a bath, made her a light meal (miso soup), provided her water, massaged her back on command and took any harsh responses in stride (not many, thankfully).

Around 1:00pm we returned and she was admitted again. The next was hours of waiting, room switching, phone calls and texts to friends and relatives, the arrival of my immediate family, filling out forms, more waiting, briefings on procedures, etc. etc. etc.

Then finally, at 9:19 pm in the evening, after much hard work from a great birthing team and of course the Czerina's strenuous efforts, the world said hello to Jack Diego Kim Salud Sora, at 6 pounds 4 ounces and 19 inches.


As of writing, mommy and baby are doing fine.  Jack is getting a little extra attention to make sure everything is okay (He was a bit stubborn coming out, so the neonatologists have moved him to the nursery for observation).

I'll definitely be writing more about the experience, but wanted to get the official announcement out of the way, as well as a brief rundown of how things transpired.

Also, BTW, in acknowledgement of the very mixed heritage Jack is receiving, we are also giving him Japanese and Korean names.  These won't be part of his legal name, which is appropriate, given that "Jack" was taken from my paternal grandfather, who was always called that even though it wasn't his legal name.

The name we have selected is "義賢," which is read “Yoshikata” (よしかた) in Japanese and “Uihyeon” (의현) in Korean. The name is a combination of characters from my father's Japanese name Yoshio (義雄) and my mother's Korean name Hyunchoo (賢珠).

Both names have some historical significance.  I found the following online.

Uihyeon
Uihyeon is the name of the man who built the Buddhist statue Gatbawi in Korea.  It was made in the Unified Silla Kingdom era and is well known with the name of Gatbawi Buddha (Stone Hat Buddha). It sits 4 metres (13 ft) tall, and the hat is a 15-centimetre (6 in) thick flat stone on his head,  This single granite sculpture was made up at the top of the 850-metre (2,790 ft) high rough Palgongsan and is surrounded by a screen-like rock wall as its background. It is said that Uihyeon made it in order to appease his mother's soul in the 7th ruling year of Queen Seondeok of Silla Kingdom.  The legend of Daegu Gatbawi says that a big crane flew in to guard him every night while he was making this Gatbawi Buddha. It is reputed to be a miraculous Buddha stone, which makes a response to prayers if the prayer prays for it with his or her whole heart.

Yoshikata
Rokkaku Yoshikata (六角 義賢?, 1521 – April 19, 1598) was a samurai head of the Rokkaku clan during Japan's Sengoku period.[1] He was shugo (governor) and later daimyō of an area of southern Ōmi province, he served as castellan of Kannonji Castle. He later became a Buddhist monk, under the name Shōtei.

Alright, that seems good enough for now.  Getting ready for lunch and catching a little more quick shut-eye where I can.

Dwight

On the Wisdom of the Baby Buddha

Facebook meme my wife Czerina created with a photo of Jack

Attending to my baby in the wee hours of the morning for his regular cycle of waking, changing and feeding, I find myself marveling at his purity of mind and spirit.

For there is no guile in the Baby, no secrets, no hidden agenda. You don't have to wonder if they like or dislike what you are doing. Joy is immediately communicated through contented sighs or peals of laughter; discontent in the form of furrowed brows, quivering chins and unmistakable tearful bawling.

No time is wasted reading in-between the lines of e-mails or texts, attempting to discern hidden messages from tone of voice or speculating if their actions stem from being passive-aggressive, aggressive-aggressive, inadvertently rude or clueless overenthusiasm. No, the Baby is genuine and possesses a sense of oneness that would be the envy of any pilgrim striving to reach Nirvana.

I can think of a lot of people, myself included, who have spent a lot of time and in some cases money studying ways to feel alive, intuitive and in the moment. Classrooms and studios across the country are crammed with individuals committing themselves to pursuits such as martial arts, acting, yoga, dance, music, improv, meditation, so on and so forth, trying to find out how they can just be.

And then there's the Baby, with the regular cycle of waking, changing and feeding. And that's all there is to it. I seriously think the sound of the universe in its most elemental state just might be "Goo."

How exactly do we screw up and lose this wonderful simplicity on the road to adulthood?
Guess I'll get to find out when my son graduates to toddlerhood.