Why I Love May

We’ve had a couple of BEAUTIFUL weekends in a row, where I live. After such weird, wonky weather for the whole winter and a good chunk of the spring, we are welcoming this awesomeness.

Here are ten things I love about the month of May. (You might notice a theme.)

1. It smells wonderful. As I begin this post, I’m sitting on my front step, and the air smells of growing green things, earth, flowers, mown grass, warm pavement, possible rain coming… mmm.
2. My birthday. I still enjoy my birthday, even though I’ve had 34 of them, and I think it has something to do with it being in May. This year, my birthday included a trip to the park in such lovely weather that we were almost sorry to go inside (the sushi restaurant) for dinner. Almost. (I had vegetarian dragon rolls with sweet potato tempura, for the first time. YUMMY.)
3. Flowery trees. I don’t know what it is about them, but they make me feel like I live somewhere magical. I associate them with my birthday, too, because when I was a kid I usually had a calendar in my room – the free one of Ontario scenery that the mechanic gave us – and May always had the best photos, with flowery trees. Plus, they smell so good.
4. Breaking out the warm-weather clothes. The happy colours and patterns, the shoes that can be worn without socks, everything lightweight. It’s nice. And thanks to some generous friends of mine (merci!), I have a lot of good maternity clothes for spring and summer.
5. Leaves. I have realized in the past few years that leaves make me happy, and May is the month they arrive in earnest. I just drink in the sight of them after more than half a year of bare branches.
6. First crop of asparagus. E and I went to the market this Saturday, and bought some delicate Ontario asparagus. It’s delightful. (E will try some when he’s three, he says. I have been psyching him up to try all new foods when he turns three – in less than a month! – and so far, he’s totally on the bandwagon: “Yeah, I’ll enjoy that when I’m three.”)
7. Outside time. For my kid, especially. Playing at parks, walks to the river, seeing what’s growing in the garden, tromping around Grammie and Papa’s property to water things, drawing with sidewalk chalk. Right now, E’s all excited about “riding” his “bike” – it’s a tricycle whose pedals he can’t quite operate yet, so he leans on the handlebars and rolls himself along with his tiptoes. Good times.
8. Opening windows – especially overnight. You don’t fully realize how stale your house has gotten over the winter until you finally get fresh air – ahhh.
9. Auto-gardening. Although I wish I did, I have NO green thumb. At ALL. However, this weekend is the one where it’s supposed to be safe to plant annuals in your beds… and whaddaya know, the snapdragons I planted last year (the only annuals that survived – and they lasted until December!) came back all by themselves and are blooming at this very moment! E was stoked, calling them “dragon snaps.”
10. Holiday weekend! Thanks, Queen Victoria. And although we tend to have crap weather on the holiday weekend, this year we’ve had the opposite. 🙂 No fireworks have been rained out in this city.

What are you stoked about this month, mes amis?

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