As we were getting ready for bed last night, I commented to Susan that I haven’t done very well at celebrating all of the May holidays this year. May is a month with a lot of holidays.

Although we finally have been experiencing genuine spring weather around here, I didn’t go in for May baskets or dancing around a May pole on May 1. I know that in some countries the holiday is recognized as International Workers Day, but since the US and Canada, the two countries that share a common border near my home observe Labor Day on the first Monday of September, May Day doesn’t come up on my list of major holidays. The military parades that are common in some Communist countries don’t get me too excited to celebrate. I suppose I could have gone in for the flowers and spring celebrations, but somehow I didn’t. My poor wife didn’t get a May basket from her husband. He got a kiss anyway but there was not chasing around the house involved.

Then on Wednesday, I let National Life Insurance Day pass without any special notice whatsoever. I’m not real big on life insurance in the first place. There was a time when we had young children and a big mortgage and my salary was critical to the support of our family when life insurance was part of our family’s financial plan, but those days have passed. Our circumstances have changed and I let the day pass without a card or even a friendly phone call to our insurance agent. I’m not sure that they make commercial cards for the holiday anyway. I’m not much for the kind of cards that go for more than those in the display at the dollar store.

Thursday, May the 4th is supposed to be a day for everything Star Wars. You know, May the Fourth be with you, and all. I was into Star Wars movies for a short time. The first movie was released the year before I graduated from seminary. Going to a movie was a big deal in our lives back then because we didn’t spend much money on entertainment. We certainly weren’t among the first to see the movie, but we did catch it in a theater. By the time The Empire Strikes Back was released we were serving churches in small towns in North Dakota where there were no movie theaters. My father was undergoing treatments for cancer and I made regular trips to Montana to visit him. The theater provided a bit of escape from some of the harsh realities of life and the special effects of the movie were really impressive to me. By the time the second trilogy appeared we had a teenage son who convinced us to wait in line to see the movies near their release dates. Afterward, we got a VCR and we had boxed sets of the movies that we watched several times. I guess if I were going to celebrate May the 4th, however, I might prefer to do so by assembling a large Star Wars Lego set with my grandson, but frankly, he’s not as interested in Lego as he once was and the big 2,000-piece X-Wing Starfighter is a bit pricy for his grandfather. If I had thought about it, I could have afforded $6 for a Darth Vader mini figure keychain, but I let the day pass without mention.

Yesterday, of course, was Cinco de Mayo. I’m not sure how big the holiday is in Mexico. I think that outside of the town of Puebla, I don’t think it is a big deal. It is a marketing day for Mexican-American restaurants. The day commemorates Mexico’s victory over the Second French Empire at the Battle of Puebla in 1862, but you won’t find much Mexican history in the advertisements around here. I suppose I could have gone for a bit of carne asada at the El Tapatio Food Truck on the corner of Grandview and Vista. They do know their way around marinate and a barbecue. The closest I got was fish tacos at CJ’s Beach House. The tacos had perfectly grilled Mahi Mahi, but it’s not quite the same as asada and beer.

So, I guess that one shouldn’t get up their hopes for me to make a big deal out of National Nurses Week today. The week begins on May 6 each year and concludes on May 12, Florence Nightingale’s birthday. And if you are into nursing, don’t expect a big party at our house on Monday for National Student Nurses Day.

It isn’t as if I have some objection to holidays. I enjoy a good celebration. And being semi-retired you’d think I’d have extra time on my hands to plan all kinds of parties. But frankly, I’m not wandering around bored with my life and a lot of free time. There are weeks when I think I’m doing pretty well to make a daily check on the bees, get my work done at the church, do my share of cooking, get the lawn mowed, make a few home repairs, play with our grandchildren and take a daily walk with my wife. We do have plans to go out for a book signing and author event this evening. That may be the only date with my wife this week, unless you count dinner at the beach house last night, which I certainly do. It isn’t a very fancy restaurant, but it is conveniently near our house and the food is good and the people friendly.

I won’t miss all of the celebrations this month, however. Mother’s Day is worthy of a celebration since I’m surrounded by some pretty incredible mothers. I have deep appreciation for Susan, for our daughter and for our daughter-in-law. They all are wonderful mothers and we are so fortunate to have them in our family. And Mother’s Day always lands on a Sunday, so I am less likely to forget it than some other holidays.

I’ll probably remember Memorial Day as well. I’ve adjusted to it being the last Monday of May rather than May 30, and if I forget it this year, I can always celebrate the next day and claim, I’m a traditionalist.

I hope the holidays of May bring a bit of brightness and joy to your life.