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PARENTING
“It’s Ok If He Doesn’t Know.”
I have a strange tendency to boast about the fact that TV shows and movies rarely make me cry. I don’t know why this is something to be proud of, and the incidence of my eyes getting watery has definitely increased since I became a mom.
I went down some interesting Netflix and Hulu rabbit holes during the bizarre period of existence of the last year. As we get ready for mother’s day, I can’t stop thinking about a scene in a Korean show called “The Light in Your Eyes”. This thing stabbed me in the feelings. I rewatched it yesterday and became an embarrassing sobbing mess the moment it started. More than anything I’ve ever seen, it captures motherhood.
My words won’t do it justice, but I’m going to try.
It is a scene between a mother and a son. The son grew up with a prosthetic leg, and remembers his single mom as harsh and strict. He doesn’t look back on her fondly. Toward the end of his mother’s life, he learns that she had gotten up early every morning before he went to school to clear the snow from the path because she was afraid he would fall. He tells her that he never knew she did that, and that he never fell and she says “it’s ok if he doesn’t know. As long as he doesn’t slip and fall down, it’s fine”. Later, the son sobs (and…
