May Day

Each year as May Day approaches, my thoughts turn towards Dusty and Jenna - friends who passed through my life several years ago. Dusty's family has a May Day tradition. They pick flowers from their yard and ask their kids deliver the flowers to friends and neighbors to show appreciation. I adore this tradition.

A year ago, we lived in Grandmother's old house. We had 3 different kinds of roses--including my favorite, the peace rose; white lilacs; yellow daffodils; purple frosted tulips; snowdrops; purple and white irises;....and tons of others. Wildflowers grew by the ditch....and our front yard was a meadow of dandelions!

We liked to pretend we let the dandelions run rampant for bunny. (Bunnies LOVE eating dandelion greens. We'd pick tons and shove them through the mail slot. Bunny used to sit under that mail slot wishing for dandelion greens to drop from heaven.) Really we just like dandelions. Sexy Haqon still refuses to believe dandelions are weeds. Where he's from, if it doesn't stab you or poison your skin, it's not a weed. A sunny yellow flower that magically transforms itself into a fluffy white globe you can make wishes on just didn't qualify. Beautiful Rabbit agreed. (She was so delighted the day I told her dandelions were an exception to the "no picking flowers from other people's yards" rule.)

For this (and other) reasons, we now live in a home where someone else takes care of our yard for us. It seems more neighborly somehow. But we miss dandelions. I have no flowers of my own to give to my friends and neighbors.

So, if you think of it on Thursday, grab a handful of blossoms and scatter them into the air or on your neighbor's front porch....or deliver an official bouquet. and know that I'd bring you flowers if I had some to bring :)