I met Anna-Marie and Brian just a few hours after they landed in Seoul, the birth country of their first son (who I did not get to meet this time around). This time, they were in Korea to meet their second son, Tobin, for the first time. That meeting was less than 14 hours away, and I was honored to meet this wonderful couple and welcome them to Korea. We talked over a bossam dinner, and I learned of the 18 month process that had brought them to finally meeting the little boy who they would soon add to their family.
We met again the following morning, and it wasn’t long before a little boy in suspenders with snowmen on them rounded the corner and lit up the room. Busy with a lollipop, he ran from person to person, playing with each and everyone in turn. Bubbles brought out his beautiful smile, while a car on the floor calmed him and made him concentrate. Clearly a loving little man, it didn’t take him long to give his dad a big kiss on the cheek, get swept up in hugs, or share a drink with his mother. For the next hour, Tobin scooted between the other playing children, stopping to study a toy here and there, threw out a quick smile to one of his parents before bolting in the other direction, and kept us all sweating without respite.
No sooner had we started playing, it seemed, than the meeting was called to an end. But Tobin’s loving foster mother took everyone, including myself (who she reasoned had been chasing three people all over, and must be in need of a good feed), for a barbecue lunch. The first meeting was over in a heartbeat, but the memory of it was etched in my mind. This was going to be a great family! Stay tuned for the forming of a family and a friendship! Plenty more to come in this amazing story.
