Bringing up children, you don’t have to be an expert in East
Asian affairs to know that while at times it can be the best and most rewarding
time of your life it can also be the scariest emotional rollercoaster and
sometimes mortifying.
From the moment Professor Robert Kelly’s daughter gate crashed
his live interview on BBC news about the impeachment of South Korea’s president
Park Geun –hye and we watched him struggle to keep his stern demeanour as a
comedy of errors unfolded behind him, parents all around the country sat
sympathising knowing full well of the humiliation that can be dealt by small
children with their impeccable knack for comedy timing.
They are amazingly unpredictable creatures with no cares for
the social etiquette of the world that adults live in as Marion and little
brother James proved with their joyous escapades after seeing their daddy on
the TV screen and deciding to seek him out in his study.
Marion swaggering in in what was later described as her
hippety- hoppity mood with James like a mini Davros from doctor who in his baby
walker following in hot pursuit were a delight to see, while the wry smile Mr
Kelly tried to stifle as wife Jung-a Kim attempted to rectify the situation
knowing full well that this bit of film had all the potential to be an internet
hit just proved to me to show how much affection he has for his beautiful
family.
And that’s an amazing thing to possess, the ability to love
despite what life throws at you, to know that while you might have had a sense
of humour failure somewhere along the line you will very soon be able to laugh
it off as just one of those things and your children will always feel
comfortable to come to you with anything.
For while time marches on and the calendar changes along
with their ages, it doesn’t matter how old they are they will always be your babies.
