May Day

Happy May Day! Some people associate May 1st with the beginning of summer; in some countries it is associated with labor and worker's rights. In the USA, it has been adopted as a focus on immigrant workers' rights.

For me, May 1st is more an indication that we have seen the last of winter weather - no more freezing temperatures to kill the flowers and newly sprouting foliage. I usually feel pretty confident about planting flowers after May 1st, knowing the risk of their being killed by an unexpected freeze is over.

May brings with it sad memories on Mother's Day and my mother's birthday, knowing that I no longer have her here to celebrate her special occasions. And, it brings the depressing knowledge of my increasing age. I remember dancing around the May Pole when I was in elementary school at the May Day Festival. How could so much time have passed since then?