How do I love thee? Let me count the days . . .

My little boy, En-Uk, is counting off the days until we visit Daegu:

"We have to sleep 13 more times . . ."

I'm tempted to ask him the consequences of a sleepless night. Would we have to leave a day later? Or what if we took a quick, afternoon nap -- could we leave for Daegu sooner?

Instead, I asked him why he so desperately wants to visit Daegu. He said:

"I want to play computer games. And video games."

So, that's his little game! Or games. And I had imagined that it was deep love for his maternal cousins or the mysterious, genetic pull of consanguinity.

I decided to torment him:

"Oh, there won't be time for that on this trip, En-Uk. We'll be busy hiking on that nearby mountain all day."

En-Uk's eyes grew wide with concern. He still remembers that terrible mountain where I refused to carry him and he cried all the way down. But he then caught the twinkle in my own eye and realized that I was joking.

"So . . . I can play?" he asked.

"En-Uk," I told him, "I reckon you can count on it."