May Day

Our Kentucky Derby house guests arrived Wednesday night and they are so very nice! I'm really glad they got to come to Kentucky to see it in person. While I may not be originally from Kentucky, it has been my home for so long that I get a sense of pride in showing it off. We spent a lot of time getting the house ready and while I didn't get it quite as perfect as I wanted I think it was okay. Most of the incomplete tasks were out in the yard anyhow.

Now that our work for Derby is behind us it's time for a period of contraction to get us back into a routine. I think a May Day celebration to get us back in tune with the rhythms of the seasons and daily life was exactly what we needed!

So, Thursday evening, Will and I dug out some felt and yarn and made May Day crowns to use for a special May Day Morning Circle on Friday morning.

We started our morning circle with our usual opening verse and then we recited the verse below and sang a Maypole song that we found in the book Festivals, Family and Food.

Morning May Verse

Good morning, Mistress and Master,
I wish you a happy day;
Please to smell my garland
'Cause it is the first day of May.

A branch of May I have brought you
And at your door I stand;
It is but a sprout, but it's well budded out
The work of our Lord's hand.

In order to bring us back to center after our Maypole song we also read an excerpt from the series Lark Rise to Candleford. I've recently bought a print copy of this series and can't wait until I can get sometime to really sit down and read it. It looks like such a wonderful book and the reviews are fabulous!

Will was not feeling particularly in the mood for circle time so he mostly just sat on my lap while I sang and recited poems and stories, but it gave us a nice peaceful event to bring a bit more rhythm and awareness back to our lives.