Happy May Day!
May 1st. A day I *HATED* as a child. Mom would gather all of her construction paper, glue, markers, and tape together and we would sit at the table after school and make little baskets. Then she would fill the make-shift construction-paper baskets with candy and we would all head outside. Ah, what great memories… until happy memories came to a grinding, screeching halt…
The three of us, myself and two younger brothers, and any neighborhood friends we would rally up to make May Day baskets would all line up in the front yard, our backs all facing the same direction. Then the competition would begin. Mom would start the game by putting one basket behind a person (*never* me, I’m quite certain) and then they would have to chase her and give her a kiss. Once they betrothed their kiss on my mom’s cheek they got to pick the next victim. (I’m not sounding a little cynical about all of this, am I?) They would place the basket behind said-victim’s back, tap them on the shoulder and then RUN, trying their darndest not to be caught. Once the person had been tapped they could start the chase.
For some reason I was never the PRIZE person to choose and was usually the last to be picked. Usually, it was one of my brothers who even at 2 & 4 years younger than me could way out run me. (I was not very athletic! Barbie Dolls and Play Dough and ‘girlie things’ were more my ideal.)
Competition. I HATED it. I still HATE it. I cringe when my two young-boys race to see who is faster. I go to my ‘happy place’ when my husband tries to one-up his brother. I think deep thoughts when my own brothers try to prove who is smarter / wiser / stronger. Competition is in no way a part of me.
May Day left me running till I could run no longer trying to catch someone I NEVER could catch. To give them a kiss I hardly felt like giving when all was said and done. Did it make me a stronger person? Hardly! But I sure enjoyed that candy in my make-shift construction-paper basket when all was said and done!
Ah memories… 🙂 I hope you can create your own POSITIVE memories this May Day and days to follow!
– Leanne from MilitaryAvenue.com
PS: I had to chuckle, my mom wrote a blog last year about the tradition: May Day: a Kid’s Holiday That Might Not Be On The Calendar. If you are looking for a not-so-sour perspective of the day 😉
byLeanneonFriday, May 01, 2009
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