My May this year

By Sho Chang-young

May 5 was Children's Day. My wife and I have two daughters and they both got married recently. One lives in our neighborhood, the other in the U.S. They don't have babies yet. Thus we spent the holiday watching the neighborhood children happily hanging out with their parents or grandparents. We envied them and were feeling a little down. But after three days, the mood has changed dramatically.

May 8 was Parents' Day. With surprising news, our first daughter in the U.S. sent us two pretty mugs by overnight airmail. On the surface of each mug, Korean words were printed along with heart marks. They were "halmeoni" and "halabeoji" respectively. Small notes were contained. "Happy Parents' Day to Mom and Dad! I'm three months pregnant! My husband came up with an idea to print something to be celebrated on the mugs. We love you!" We were extremely happy. Immediately, we shared our joy through internet video call. We received the greatest Parents' Day gift.

May 15 was Teachers' Day. As a retired school teacher, I keep in touch with some of my old students. A few days before, one of them called me. More than three decades ago, I was a new teacher in a rural high school and he was the class leader. I have many memories of him, and even after his graduation, we stayed in touch. However, that stopped for more than a decade.

He said on the phone that he had been successful in a construction business, and was about to sign a very profitable contract soon. He promised me to make a reservation for dinner on Teachers' Day. He also said that he was going to pick me up. I looked forward to seeing him, so I waited for his call from the afternoon of the previous day. But there was no call from him all day long. It made me anxious. The fact that he was a business owner in these tough times made me more so.

Late that night, I got a text message from him. It said, “Sorry, sir. I couldn't keep my word because of something urgent. I will certainly serve you next time. Congratulations on Teachers' Day!” It made me worry about him, but I couldn't offer anything more than a simple reply. Instead, I decided to look forward to some good news for him.

There was another happening last weekend. When I came home after exercising outdoors, a small food box with an attached note was placed at my front door. I took it in and opened. It was freshly cooked delicious smelling rice cakes. The note said, “Dear sir. I am the mother of a child upstairs. Thanks for your generosity, even if my kid is jumping and causing floor noise at any time. Welcoming Family Month, we give you this as a sign of gratitude. Please enjoy it.”

It reminded me of a talk I had with the child's mom. Early this month, I encountered her in the elevator. She apologized for her child's noise. I replied, “In my opinion, your child tends to jump. But it isn't that we couldn't stand it. We fully understand how difficult it is to raise children. Children grow as they play and leap. If they remain calm, their motor neurons will not fully develop. Don't think about it so much!”

While eating those delicious rice cakes, we had a relaxing time and looked back on what happened this May. Oh, my May is almost over. May you all end up with an awesome May!

The writer is retired principal of Gunsan Girls' High School.