Not long ago, during spring break, I took the Minwoos to Lotte World. They had a great time. While we waited in line, I asked them how they liked their new school year. In Korea, school starts in March. The older Minwoo is now in third grade, and the younger one is in second. When I asked, the older Minwoo quickly said, “It’s fun!” The younger Minwoo, however, couldn’t answer and just mumbled. I encouraged him to be honest about school, but all he replied was, “It’s fine. Everything’s good.”
That’s just how the Minwoos are. They are well-behaved kids. Even when they want something, like when we waited thirty minutes for cotton candy only for the stand to close right in front of us, the Minwoos said, “It’s okay.” They have never thrown a tantrum or asked for something more than twice.
Learning to live with others is important, and the Minwoos seem to have figured that out early. But I started to wonder if this is really how it should be. At seven and eight, shouldn’t they be allowed to throw fits and express their feelings freely? Even when they wanted to ride more rides but had to leave to be home by nine, the Minwoos just followed me quietly. I hope that when they are with me, they can sometimes just be kids who don’t listen so well.