Peaceable Man Files #55: The Merry Month of May

Random musings on my vagabond existence in the Endless Mountains of Pennsylvania and wherever else life takes me.

Ah, the merry month of May.

What a beautiful time of year here in Pennsylvania. As I went for my early morning walk around the neighborhood with Cassie today, I was reminded of why I love this month so much. It’s not just all the vibrant colors—the flowers, the bushes, the trees, the grass.

It’s all the delectable smells in the air. The lilac bushes. The privet hedges. The honeysuckle. I’m fortunate not to suffer from allergies, so I can soak in all these scents without having to worry about sneezing.

The birdsong, too. Just a few short weeks ago, the only birds I would hear during my morning walks were lovesick Carolina wrens calling to each other, and maybe a cardinal singing birdie, birdie, birdie.

Now, I wake to birdsong seeping through the bedroom window. I love walking out into that chorus in the morning and entering the communion of voices heralding the promise of another day. It’s so hopeful.

The months of May and October have always been my favorite months of the year. If given the choice between the two, I think I would choose May over October simply because May brings with it so many of the things I love to do.

Fishing. Gardening. Camping. Biking. Kayaking. Sitting out on the deck doing my writing. Listening to the birds. There are so many things I love about this time of year.

I love being able to open the doors and windows and let the fresh air flow through the house. I love being able to put on shorts and go about my day in sandals. I love being able to check on the progress of the vegetable plants in the garden, looking forward to the day soon when we can have ripe red tomatoes and string beans for dinner.  

I love October, too, with the fall foliage and the crisp, cool air. But the older I get, the less I look forward to what lies on the other side of fall: those cold, barren months of winter. I have a harder time warming up these days. My arthritic joints tend to get stiff in the cold.

As well, I don’t have as many favorite activities in the fall and winter that I used to. I don’t really hunt anymore. I no longer ski. Even holidays don’t hold the same joy for me that they used to with my father gone and my mother in a senior community.

But more than anything, I think it’s the hopefulness of spring that I need the most as I move through my seventh decade on this Earth. It’s the thought that life is opening up, not closing down; that although I am getting older, there is still a lot to look forward to.

Old or young, we all need things to look forward to. The merry month of May brings plenty of them, at least for me.

Wherever you are, whatever age you are, I hope you can get outside and enjoy all that this month brings. And as you soak it all in, remember to be grateful for every sight, sound, and fragrance you come across.

As I write in The Long Walk Home, gratitude is the pathway to happiness. That a truth that holds for all seasons.