Harrison Kim is expressionless. His cherubic cheeks remain stubbornly undimpled as he solemnly observes the scene before him of four grown adults bopping about, attempting in vain to elicit a reaction. They coo, cluck, wave their hands and sing as Harrison looks on, seemingly unimpressed. And then the magic happens.
The corners of his Cupid’s bow mouth slowly upturn and the sound they’ve all been hoping for the delicious burble of a baby’s chuckle bursts forth.
“It’s so hard to make him laugh,” his delighted mother, Dami I'm, says in triumph. All day you can see me, Noah and my parents working so hard to make him smile. And when he does, we’re all like, Ahhh!’ We are overjoyed. I feel like I am going to explode from so much joy just watching my baby smile.”
For Dami, 34, the journey to motherhood had been deliberately postponed. Not one to rush into things, she dated her now-husband Noah Kim for six years before tying the knot in 2012. I was scared of being married, scared it would change everything, and people would treat me differently,” she recalls. And people did treat me so differently once I was married. For example, once girls would ask me, What’s your dream? What do you want to become?’ And then they’d ask, Well, what did you want to be before you were married?’ Like, That’s it now’.”
At her church, which she’d attended for years, 24-year-old Dami was sent into the kitchen to join the women’s group” for those with husbands, while her friends still participated in youth group. This was the first time, she says, that she experienced being put into a box”. It was the first of many instances of labelling that inspired her to put pen to paper and write a memoir, Dreamer, tracing everything from her move to Australia from Korea as a shy nine-year-old to this new chapter as a mother.
Bu hikaye The Australian Women's Weekly dergisinin November 2022 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Giriş Yap
Bu hikaye The Australian Women's Weekly dergisinin November 2022 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Giriş Yap
Hitting a nerve
Regulating the vagus nerve with its links to depression, anxiety, arthritis and diabetes - could aid physical and mental wellbeing.
Take me to the river
With a slew of new schedules and excursions to explore, the latest river cruises promise to give you experiences and sights you won’t see on the ocean.
The last act
When family patriarch Tom Edwards passes away, his children must come together to build his coffin in four days, otherwise they will lose their inheritance. Can they put their sibling rivalry aside?
MEET RUSSIA'S BRAVEST WOMEN
When Alexei Navalny died in a brutal Arctic prison, Vladimir Putin thought he had triumphed over his most formidable opponent. Until three courageous women - Alexei's mother, wife and daughter - took up his fight for freedom.
The wines and lines mums
Once only associated with glamorous A-listers, cocaine is now prevalent with the soccer-mum set - as likely to be imbibed at a school fundraiser as a nightclub. The Weekly looks inside this illegal, addictive, rising trend.
Jenny Liddle-Bob.Lucy McDonald.Sasha Green - Why don't you know their names?
Indigenous women are being murdered at frightening rates, their deaths often left uninvestigated and widely unreported. Here The Weekly meets families who are battling grief and desperate for solutions.
Growing happiness
Through drought flood and heartbreak, Jenny Jennr's sunflowers bloom with hope, sunshine and joy
"Thank God we make each other laugh"
A shared sense of humour has seen Aussie comedy couple Harriet Dyer and Patrick Brammall conquer the world. But what does life look like when the cameras go down:
Winter baking with apples and pears
Celebrate the season of Australian apples and pears with these sweet bakes that will keep the midwinter blues away.
Budget dinner winners
Looking for some thrifty inspiration for weeknight dinners? Try our tasty line-up of low-cost recipes that are bound to please everyone at the table.
