Happy May Day!

Original post: May 1, 2024; edited.

When we were kids growing up on North Bonnie Brook Lane, in Waukegan, Illinois, my siblings and I and a couple of our neighborhood friends would get excited for May Day. We had learned about this fun May Day tradition in grade school.

We would cut up strips of paper and weave tiny baskets. Sometimes we used crayons to color the strips of paper first before weaving because we didn’t have colored construction paper. We weren’t the best at weaving but we sure had fun.

Then we headed out into the open fields around our homes in search of wild flowers to fill our little lopsided baskets.

Once we filled the baskets with yellows and purples, pinks and white, we set out on our mission. We had to work fast before our flowers wilted too badly.

As we walked down our road, we’d take turns running up to a house and setting a single basket on the porch. We’d ring the doorbell, yell Happy May Day! and run back to the group who was already fast ahead of us, running down the road. We didn’t want to be seen. We wanted the neighbor to see only the gift of a flowery May basket and not us. We were just kids being kids back in the day when our world was much less scary.

May Day is a celebration of springtime. This year it begins with the Full Flower Moon. May brings new life and new beginnings. As an adult, I see it as a welcomed renewal.

I hope this May Day brings new hope and vision to your life. My three girls have always loved the month of May. They love the emerald birthstone, as do I. It is a beautiful month and a wonderful time of year.

♥️

Andi