Before you say anything, dear reader:
(1) I know I said I was gonna try to be a better blogger this year when I last posted five months ago. It would appear that I have fallen short of my goal.
and
(2) I know some of you are probably thinking I misspelled the word “merry” in the title of this post, but I promise you I didn’t. Why did I spell it this way? Read ’til the end to find out. (By the way, do you know the name of the “strolling through the park one day…” song this title is taken from? Click here to find out.)
So anyway, it’s June now, and it sure looks like it’s gonna be a super-busy summer for your Friend and Humble Narrator J here. But before I disappear into a cloud of work and responsibility, let me tell you about all the cool stuff that happened in May.
For starters, I lost 10 pounds (more to come), a friend who’s been in a rough patch started taking steps to turn his life around, and a certain old radio co-host of mine finalized an incredible business deal. But that’s just the beginning.
Let’s take it chronologically:
May 4th – I became Uncle J to a brand new, beautiful niece
On May 4th, my dear friends Young and Jason welcomed a healthy baby girl named Jayna Jiyoo into the world.
Young was my very first teaching partner in Korea (2011), and Jason was the guy who ended up falling for her and bringing her back to Ohio with him. Together with our Canadian friend Sarah, we became a pretty tightly-knit little quartet. Ate a lot of meals together. Did a lot of bowling. Mastered a lot of escape rooms. Saw a lot of movies. Took a lot of road trips. Long story short, Jayna’s birth truly feels like a family affair. đŸ™‚
On a sidenote, it wasn’t lost on any of us that Jayna was born on Star Wars Day,
Sarah and I desperately fought for her middle name to be Leia, Chewie, Yoda, R2-D2, etc. When that didn’t work, we suggested maybe Darth Jayna or Jaynakin. That didn’t work either, and eventually her middle name was declared to be Jiyoo. Young and Jason probably did the right thing, but I’m still gonna get her a lightsaber for her 100 Days Party.
Congratulations, y’all! I love you both and couldn’t be happier to be Uncle J. đŸ™‚
May 6th – An old friend helped me find a perfect new job
This part requires a little bit of background to get the full effect.
In April I applied for a teaching position at my old elementary school, which shall remain nameless because I’m a nice person. It seemed like everything was going well with the application process, but on April 6th I got a message telling me that I’d been turned down. Ordinarily this wouldn’t have bothered me too much (win some, lose some – it’s just a fact of life), but April 6th was also the two-year anniversary of the day when my old canine companion Kimchi had his first major episode of heart failure. The whole day felt cursed. It was really kind of a bummer.
But one month to the day I ran into my old neighbor “Miss Susie” at Wal-Mart (because that’s where you run into people when you live in the South).
She asked me what I’d been up to, and I told her I was looking for work after being turned down for the job a month earlier. Without missing a beat, she told me to get in touch with St. James Catholic School, where she used to be principal, and see if they were looking for any teachers.
I dropped them a line as soon as I got home. Five days later I had an interview. The day after that, I was offered a new job. đŸ™‚
To be continued…
May 11th – My buddy Garrett proved it’s never too late to start over
Garrett “G Money” Magee was a close friend, co-worker, and roommate of mine during the Apartment 86 era of my undergraduate days. (You might have seen the video where he and I ran over Wendy Bell with my car.) Garrett hit a rough patch somewhere along the way and ended up moving home, never finishing his degree. But on May 11th of this year he turned it all around and became a college graduate – summa cum laude, no less!
Congratulations, old boy! You’ve done the 86 proud. We seriously need a reunion.
May 19th – My buddy Mike kept the Spinal Tap curse at bay for another year
If you’re not familiar with the Spinal Tap curse, I’ll make it very simple: all of their drummers have died under mysterious circumstances and/or in completely freak accidents.
Fortunately, my drummer (and very dear friend) Mike has managed to survive another trip around the sun. He celebrated his birthday on May 19th. Like I always remind him: no matter how old we get, I’ll always be six days younger. đŸ™‚
Happy birthday, dude! Hoping to make it out your way as soon as I can.
May 20th – I heard the soundtrack of my life played live
In what was probably the greatest early birthday present of my life, I saw the Smashing Pumpkins live in New Orleans on May 20th. Fellow fans will be happy to know that they played old songs, new songs, greatest hits, deep cuts, and – the hands-down crowd favorite – a cover of the Talking Heads’ “Once in a Lifetime.”
At one point Billy Corgan even brought his kids onstage.
My friend-since-grade-school Emmett was with me. He said it was nice to see the angsty rock stars of our adolescence become happy, well-adjusted adults with families. haha
May 21st – I went inside the Little Witch House
Another great early birthday present. There’s a house in the neighborhood where I grew up that I’ve always referred to as “the Little Witch House.” It’s painted green and white with stars and moons on its shutters, and its roof and front porch go up into high pointed arches – the kind of house you might see in a fairy tale or storybook.
I’ve learned that this style of house is simply called a storybook house.
I’ve spent my whole life imagining what kind of person might live in a house like this. An eccentric old professor, maybe. Or a kindly old lady with lots of cats and crystal figurines. Or a really intelligent animal that reads books and wears tweed jackets like Badger in The Wind in the Willows.
Anyway, it’s a long story, but thanks to a combination of good luck and friendliness, I finally got to go inside on May 21st. The owner did in fact turn out to be an eccentric old professor, and the interior of the house was even better than I’ve always imagined. Out of respect for his privacy and property I won’t post any pictures (sorry), but I wanted to write this down for the sake of my own memories. I really couldn’t believe it, y’all. I went inside the Little Witch House!
May 23rd – I signed my name on the dotted line (continued from May 6th)
Though I accepted the offer for my new job on May 12th, my paperwork and contract weren’t finalized until May 23rd. That was the day I officially became a third-grade homeroom teacher at St. James Catholic School.
I’ll be taking three courses at William Carey during the summer to obtain my U.S. teaching license, and by August I’ll be good to go. It’s hard to put into words how excited I am about all this. I’ve been back in the States for two years now, but thus far I’ve avoided looking for teaching jobs, mainly because so many American schools and curriculums are at odds with my values and opinions about education. St. James, on the other hand, is exactly what I’ve been looking for.
And just a beautiful coincidence: May 23rd was the one-year anniversary of the day we said goodbye to Kimchi. A day of sadness became a day of new beginnings. Can’t help but think I’ve got a fluffy little angel at my heels.
May 25th – Happy Birthday to Me
Like the aforementioned Mike, I too celebrated a birthday last month (see also: “J Day”). It was a pretty low-key affair this year – just Chinese food and black forest cake with the family – but it really hit the spot.
I think there comes a point in life when you really have to stop expecting everyone to care very much about your birthday, but I’ve been blessed with many friends and family members who reached out to send their best wishes. Many thanks to all of you. I’ll do my best to reconnect when things slow down.
May 28th – Oh, Babies!
Both of my cousins on my mom’s side will be having babies in July, so this year on Memorial Day Weekend we drove up to Mississippi for their baby shower. (You probably have to be from the Gulf Coast to appreciate my “drove up to Mississippi” joke. haha) Baby showers are usually kind of a girly affair, but this one was part-barbecue, so we guys didn’t feel too left out. Plus, it’s always nice to spend time with family and friends.
Quick mentions for my fellow book nerds. I picked up a new copy of St. Louis de Montfort’s classic The Secret of the Rosary at mass the next morning. Then my mom was nice enough to get me a Joan Didion essay collection (Library of America edition) at Barnes & Noble to thank me for driving. Thanks Mom!
On the way home we went to Fresh Market and had lunch at Cracker Barrel, which gave me a chance to stock up on novelty drinks and root beers.
and the Shirley Temple?
And then – icing on the cake – we stopped to get gas and there was a Joe Biden “I Did That!” sticker on the pump.
I’d heard about people doing this to mock the high gas prices, but I’d never actually seen one of these stickers in the wild before. I wonder if they’ll be museum pieces like the Eisenhower “I Like Ike” buttons and Obama HOPE posters someday.
May 31st – You’ve Got the Write Stuff
Rounding out this month of little victories was a package I received in the mail from my old friend and fellow Gulf Coast writer Reagan “RJ” McDowell (a.k.a. Jonquil O’Dell). She sent me an ARC (advanced reader copy) of her debut book, Agatha Anxious & the Deer Island Ghost.
As you can see from the cover, it’s the first in a series of young adult books based on spooky stories and urban legends from around the Gulf Coast. I’d be interested in reading something like this anyway, but it’s especially cool to know it was written by someone I know, admire, and once sold a magic mirror to. đŸ™‚
You done good, Evil Queen! Congratulations on this awesome accomplishment. Looking forward to the success of this amazing series.
Conclusion
So why did I title this post “All in the Mary Month of May?” Well, as some of you might know, May is the Month of Mary on the Roman Catholic calendar. This had a special significance for me this year.
Again, this might require a quick story –
Somewhere around February or March I realized that I just didn’t feel well anymore. Everyone makes jokes about how people over 40 feel tired all the time, but this was something more than that. It wasn’t just exhaustion: I felt purposeless, unfocused, and completely burned out. I couldn’t bring myself to do anything for very long, not even the writing projects I desperately wanted to work on.
What was wrong with me?
Maybe my nine years of non-stop work in Korea were finally catching up with me. Maybe I had health problems I wasn’t paying enough attention to. Maybe I was still grieving for Kimchi. Maybe I was having a midlife crisis. Whatever it was, I could see that I was clearly in some sort of rut.
So, for Lent this year (March 2nd – April 14th), I made a commitment to pick myself up: body, mind, and soul.
This meant eating healthier and exercising more. Wasting less time on social media. Making time to read. Setting daily goals. Not procrastinating. Spending time in silence and prayer. Fasting. Saying the rosary.
By Easter I was feeling much better, and by May – as you can see – blessings were everywhere and my prayers were being answered.
My Protestant, non-Christian, and non-religious friends might not understand the Catholic devotion to Our Lady, but after all the good things that have happened for me and so many of my favorite people over the past month, I hope it at least makes sense to hear me repeat her words from Luke 1:49 –
If you’re not feeling your best, dear reader, I hope you’ll consider asking her for her help and intercession. You might even consider praying this novena. It worked for me. Just putting it out there.
Gotta get back to work now. Hope everyone is doing well.
Here’s to more great months ahead,
J. Wiltz
A Day With J. 