Yesterday was May Day. When I was little I used to make May baskets for the neighbors (or at least the ones I knew and liked) and waited until they were home. Then I left the basket on their doorstep, rang the bell, ran and hid. I was never caught and I can’t remember what I believed at the time, just that being caught was very, very bad. The baskets themselves were full of goodies. Thoughtful small things and candy mostly (seriously, is there ever a time when giving candy is wrong – I just love the excuse). I intend to continue this tradition when we have kids, but didn’t think of doing anything because it is one thing to have such traditions and start them before we have kids and it is just us, but involving the neighbors seemed iffy because I know a lot of people don’t do anything on May Day and they don’t feel a genetic tug to put up with our cheesiness (or my cheesiness, because my husband is just a good sport).
Then I considered what to blog about today, and while I was feeling a writing blog (don’t worry it is coming in a few days) I kept circling back to this. Because who wants to do a May Day blog several days late? The day after, sure, but four or five days later feels like I missed the bus or something. As I started writing this, I decided, “Why not?” I mean, so my neighbors may think I am corny or oddly perky or gay (in the happy way people) – since when have I cared what people think? And I love our neighbors. We don’t live in a subdivision where we don’t know people or dislike people or in an apartment that feels claustrophobic so why would you want to get any closer to your neighbors (after being an apartment person, and a dorm person before that, for years, I get it) – we like our neighbors. We email each other, friend each other on Facebook, lend each other things and bake stuff or give each other candy and miscellaneous tokens of affection, just because. When we first moved here, we had a welcome wagon and have since jumped on that wagon for people who have moved in since. Our neighbors are awesome.
