We wait throughout the winter season, amid freezing temperatures, snow and ice covered roads which create hazardous driving conditions, endure post holiday blahs and long for the sweetness of spring. March welcomes in the season we long for but as any of us who live in the unpredictable Midwest know, March can and does come in like a lion. April can be lovely but there is still more likely than not, a chill in the air. May can bring equal parts of warmth, sunshine and a hint of summer.
For me, May is my favorite month of the spring season. Blossoms abound and the scent of flora and fauna intoxicate my senses, as I long for invigorating walks in nature, appreciating her colorful display designed by the most brilliant designer in the universe...Mother Nature. May is also the birthday month of my dearest friend of twelve years. We have had many adventures and will have many more I am sure.
May also holds bitter sweet memories of my parents, whom I dearly miss. My mother's birthday would be May 19th and my father's May 20th. My mother was a transplanted southern belle who still had a gentle lilt to her voice. I admit to having my moments with mom in my youth but any negative, rebellious feelings have long since passed and I came to respect and love her dearly. She was a marvelous grandmother and she is dearly missed by those who loved and still do love her. I am amazed that it has been almost twenty years since her passing and I cannot help but feel a bit envious at times when others of my age enjoy the company of their mother's. Mother's Day means even more, not only
because I am a mother myself but this year, my oldest daughter will enjoy her very first Mother's Day. It is a time of joy, yet, I still have a stirring in my heart for my own mother.
How can I describe my dad? He was energetic, silly, sometimes exasperating and stubborn but he also was a social butterfly, good dancer, animal lover and had the huts pah to jump out of a plane at the tender age of 80 (which scared the life out of his daughters) and continued to do so until he was 85, stating "If George Bush can do it at 80, so can I". I believe the town he resided in is a bit quieter without him and I hope he, as well as my mother, are remembered as fondly by others who knew them as they are by their family.
This year, I will bake a cake for them both and wish them a "heavenly" birthday. I hope they look down favorably upon my creative and caring spirit and give a blessing to myself, my sisters and our children and now their great grandson.
May is a time of transformation and transition with cherished memories and the promise of hope and inspiration. For all the special days and special people both here on earth and beyond...celebrate May!
