Dear Ones,
A
sleepless night. You’ve all been there I
know…many times. Your mind flits about. You
toss and turn and twist the pillow. Like
the country song says…”Sleep won’t come the whole night through” That
happened last night and one of my mind flittings was about May day …it being
the 1st of May today.
Back I went to my childhood when the merry
month of May meant the month of Mary.
For a devout good little girl at St. Theresa’s, May was the month of the
Blessed Virgin. There was a May altar at
church and at home I made my own altar.
It was an undertaking entered with enthusiasm and endless possibilities. Mother did her part. She contributed a clean Mason jar and one of
her white linen dinner napkins. Once I set up the statue draped on the pedestal
(the Mason jar) covered in white, I decorated.
Restraint was not an option. I
rummaged through the sewing kit and my sister’s jewelry box looking for
anything blue, glittery or lacy. As I recall,
my taste was quite eclectic and leaned toward cluttered. No matter.
It usually took me most of the morning to construct this altar and while
I worked I loved to sing…loud. My
favorite Mary song (there were many) was:
“Oh Mary we crown thee with blossoms today, Queen of the angels, Queen
of the May” I still love that hymn. Just writing the lyrics makes me smile. When I added the finishing touches which were
the small shot glasses from the china cabinet to hold flowers, I’d call Mother
in to admire my work Then off I’d dash on
a hunt for flowers for my altar. My favorites
were lilies of the valley. These little dainties
that smelled so delicious popped up in sidewalk cracks and empty lots around
the neighborhood. Ditto for violets. And everywhere in May, the lilac bushes
bloomed so I picked away but when the pickings were slim, a little girls gotta
do what she’s gotta do which meant leaning over a fence to snag a couple of
roses. What would Mary say? I picked away reasoning it was for a holy
cause.
What
I remember most about this undertaking was the absolute delight I derived from
doing this. The whole thing cost not a penny.
The altar was tiny and probably tacky looking to a sophisticate but in
my eyes it was beautiful. And I was so
passionate about the project. Undeterred
by any setback, I never doubted my choices nor worried about details. I just went at it with abandon and loud
singing.
We
grow up, mature and over the years became more cautious and careful. And
yet…what about that zest and fizz. That certitude. I don’t approach a project with the abandon
of that little girl doing her May altar back in that long ago spring so finally
falling off to sleep, I decided that I’d hunt for some of that joie de vivre. And while I’m at it, I plan to sing with
abandon…loud.
Take
a stab at remembering a spring when you were a child. What are your memories? Baseball, rollerskating. Let me hear about them. Come on…share them with abandon!
“I
don’t want to get to the end of my life and find that I just lived the length
of it. I want to have lived the width of
it as well” D. Ackerman
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