Never thought I'd say this

I'm such a beach/water girl.  I love to be near water, if not in it.  I could live on the water, as long it was water I could swim in if I wanted to.  When given any choices for vacation, my choice is always beach.  Always the calm ocean.  I crave the water.  I know my sister understands this.  It's hard to explain craving the water like this, but she feels the same way.

But now, I miss Korea and Seoul.  Kind of like I miss the beach.  I can think about the beach and the atmosphere there and miss it so much throughout the year.  Now that I'm over my jetlag from returning from Seoul, I miss it.  It's a feeling of wanting to be there and missing the sights and sounds and atmosphere so much that you feel it all in your mind so much so that you can actually feel it, smell it and hear it.

If I ever won the lottery (yeah right, you have to pay to play to win first), I think this is where I'd be.  Between the beach and Seoul, I'd be at one or the other every single year.  It doesn't even have to be long term, though I could always buy a beachhouse then, right?  It just has to be to where I can spend a couple weeks in Seoul to soak more of it's culture up.  I miss walking in the calm rain there, holding my umbrella and when you approach a man, they just keep theirs over their head, but lift it up above yours and you seamlessly  walk past each other.  The way they do everything there is so safe, predictable, built in time, tradition and culture, so respected.  Seoul officially has a piece of my heart like the beach and ocean have always.

I know I will never be able to constantly return and may never actually return again, but I will remember my times there often (especially this year with my family) and always with great, happy memories that can never be taken away and will never go away.  I pray for another chance or multiple chances to go back, but logically know this will likely never happen.  I will just have to settle for the memories that rewind constantly that can make me smile, even when I'm just sitting alone.  Seoul's not just about where my younger kids came from and my sweet angel baby Jaemin they so lovingly and amazingly found us to be his parents.  It's a place I get.  A place I love.  A place I take pride in and see why Koreans take such pride in their own country.

Seoul is a part of my heart now and always will be.