Mother's Day 2013 in Korea

Not expecting a package, I was surprised to see an older Korean woman standing at my door when I answered the door.  She was holding this huge flower arrangement, confirmed my name was Kristi and that I lived in the condo number on her form, and then turned to walk away.  Noticing there was no card to say who they were from, I caught her before she got away and I asked, "Who sent them?  Who are they from?  Who?"  I tried to word it as many ways I could think of for her to understand, because I knew she didn't speak English and I only know a couple handful of Korean words and phrases, none of which were helpful in this situation.  We went back and forth for a minute with no answer to my question when it was all said and done.  Wouldn't you like to have been a fly on the wall watching that conversation...and I use the term "conversation" lightly.

As soon as I closed the door, the phone rang.  It was Talton calling me from the airport in Singapore, about to catch his flight home after being gone for 12 days.  I told him that this nice Korean lady just dropped off this gorgeous flower arrangement that she said was for me but that I had no idea who they were from.  His response was, "They're from us.  Happy Mother's Day!"  Talk about sweet and take my breath away.  I mean, the flowers were amazing and all, but I was most touched by the fact that he remembered to plan something for me 2 weeks prior because he knew he'd be getting home the night before Mother's Day.   

When Connar asked me where the flowers came from, I told him, "You sent me the flowers.  Did you know that they're from you?"  His response: "Yeah."  haa!  :)

So instead of sticking in a card with a note and the sender's name, they print it on a ribbon and attach that to the flowers.  It says "Happy Mother's Day!  We love you!" and Talton's Korean name is also on there as the sender.  Talton said when the girl at work who helped him order the flowers told him she was going to write the message in English, he told her no, write it in Korean.  She was surprised by this, and he told her that he knew I'd like it in Korean because we like to soak up the culture while we're living here.  He knows me so well.  This was perfect.  :)

   

Connar & Parker...When you read this one day, take note.  It's the little things that mean the most to women.  It's the special days you don't forget.  It's the small gesture to show that you acknowledge her.  It doesn't have to be an expensive bouquet of flowers...to be honest, a handwritten post it note left on the bathroom mirror, a quick one line email to tell her you're thinking about her, or a Hallmark card hidden in her purse will do the job and do it well.  You may have a busy life at work, but it's important to take a little extra time for your wife every now and then to show her you love her.  This is what your daddy showed me by this gesture.  To say he was busy at work would be an understatement (he spent 35 days in the past two months working in Singapore while the three of us held down the fort in Korea), but the fact that he took a little time to do something so thoughtful for me means more than the actual flowers ever will.  You're so lucky to have a daddy that sets such a good example for you.