엄마 (mom)

*A reflection upon returning home after three months in Rome.

I missed saying 엄마! I missed hearing her come through the door after a long day at work.

I missed warm showers.

I missed talking with my brother.

I missed driving and Costcos and Targets.

I missed hearing my dad laugh.

I missed my own bed and room.

I missed my church and family in California.

I missed home.

Because home is a place of trivial pleasures, but also deeply meaningful, irreplaceable fragments of who I am.

Home is a place you miss even when you’re surrounded by the most beautiful wonders of the world. Home is remembered by things you wish you could be seeing with family. Home is people who remind you that you are so perfectly loved already.

엄마! 아빠! 오빠! 멍멍이! (my family)

(Korean is the language of my heart.)