A Korean lady came into the library yesterday with gifts of sweets, made of rice – I think she had been distributing gifts throughout the school. She was celebrating 100 days since the birth of her child. I had seen the baby the day before, strapped to grandma’s back.
In Korean culture, the first 100 days of a baby’s life are considered to be the most fragile so the family celebrate when that milestone is passed. After 100 days, the child can be taken outside and introduced to friends and neighbours.
Notes from a Korean island 
“A Korean lady came into the library yesterday”… it has the cadence of the beginning of a joke. As I read on, though, I was touched by this awareness of the fragility of early life borne out of experience :-). Thank you for sharing bro’ x