Three Is A Good
Number
“I wonder how
many children will make their way to me,” Mariko wonder to herself. “Three is a good number.”
~posted in July of 2009
A Family Affair
I gave this
painting to Mariko in 2009, when my sister-in-law announced to our family that she
was expecting her first child. She and my brother had been married barely a
year and they were living in Shanghai in the house of yet another of my
brothers.
My brother and
Mariko now have two children. A few months back while on a different trip here in Hong Kong,
the topic was broached about having a third child. There was a long and affectionate debate
weighing the pros and cons.
But the decision was
largely made when Mariko pointed up to this painting called Three is a Good
Number and said with a slight hint of victory in her voice, “but Da Jie, you
predicted we would have three.”
And so now a third
is on the way.
Today I am alone
in their house painting and I thought Three
is a Good Number needed some
repairs. It is chipped from their many
moves.
Update: the third....Julian Suzuki Brantingham