Monthly Archives: April 2026

THE MERRY MONTH OF MAY

The Merry Month of May.  Thomas Dekker penned this well know phrase in 16th century England. It has certainly withstood the test of time. Consider the first line:  

O the month of May, the merry month of May,
    So frolic, so gay, and so green, so green, so green! 

As I write, it is April 30th. My thoughts skip around from sweet to somber to reminiscent. My personal tradition of gathering some sort of flowers or budding branches to arrange near my front door to welcome spring dates back to early years spent living in Annapolis, Maryland. Residents of historic Cornwall Street outdid each other with door decorations in the annual competition for the best May Day display. To my surprise the tradition continues, 71 years old this year, and is widespread throughout the city.  (If you are curious, take a look:  https://www.downtownannapolispartnership.org/may-day-baskets)

I was stunned, therefore, when my new, now former, husband smashed my romantic notions of lovely May 1st by saying “Oh no,  you are wrong. May Day is all about military parades.” I beg to differ.

Many years ago, and I do mean many, before I graduated from the Peabody Institute, Preparatory Department, in Baltimore, Maryland, I was a young dance student destined for New York City and a future career on pointe. Each spring our stern and demanding ballet mistress carefully drilled selected students in the art of the Maypole. On the big day, the Mt. Vernon Flower Festival (which continues today), skipping along in frilly dresses and hair bows, we meticulously braided the long streamers of the Maypole. (Trust me, no one dared to make a mistake.) By chance, I discovered the above photo of the event (thanks to Facebook) – taken in the 1950s.

May is most likely named for the Roman goddess, Maia, goddess of growth and fertility. Appropriately, Mother’s Day is celebrated each year mid-May. Who can argue with the coincidence? The full moon of May, this year on May 1, is aptly named The Flower Moon. Full moons are spaced every 29.5 days so we have a bonus Blue Moon this year on the 31st. While these are consistently lovely items to list for this month, there is something else, for me, that I am considering this year.

Let us consider the polite usage of the word ‘may’ in daily speech. May I do this or may I do that? Twice I have participated in a beautiful learning experience: a 6-week training in Lovingkindness presented by the Vermont Zen Center in Shelburne described as: “Lovingkindness, or Mettabhavana, is an ancient Buddhist meditation leading to the development of unconditional lovingkindness and friendliness. Metta is something you feel in your heart, a positive emotional state towards others as well as ourselves.”

Metta is becoming familiar to many as more and more people today adopt an uncomplicated, usually brief, daily meditation practice. Sometimes simply sitting in stillness and quietude for a minute or two, breathing, in mindfulness, is all that it takes to reduce escalating stress, so easy to fall victim to these days. As the mind, unaccustomed to a break, looks for something “to do,” it can be useful to quietly think or say the various phrases of Metta.

May I be happy.

May I be healthy.

May I be safe.

May I live with ease.

These simple words can be modified to fit one’s personal needs. But the concept holds true – wishing oneself well no matter what else may be happening in life. Perhaps the beauty of these blessings is grace. MAY I…. Ultimately we toss the pebble into the pond of existence and in ever- widening circles we bless, send Metta, or loving and kind thoughts, to those dearest to us, then to those we barely know, then to those with whom we might have difficulty, and finally to the community or world at large. It is somehow satisfying to guide our thinking in these directions. Rather than a vacant imagining, we have ways in which to organize our thoughts, though freeing all to land as they will.

This practice has become a tool I carry with me through my day. If annoyance sparks, I have somewhere to direct my thought. If sadness, pity, fear, lack, or any negativity enters my world, I have a tool to use to pause the momentum. And if there is joy, I can share that as well. So simple. And all beginning with the word May. May I… May you… May all….

I am a Personal Trainer and Yoga teacher. I do not presume to teach meditation. But I do share Metta with my students. What a lovely way to end a practice!

April showers just might bring May flowers – depending on where you live. Here in Vermont, I am hopeful.  We do not dare plant before Memorial Day so I wait. But there are signs if one looks. Daffodils are poking through, buds are appearing on trees and shrubs, and even early crocus blooms are randomly visible.

As daylight hours lengthen, the sun appears intermittently, and previously white-covered ground evolves to green, May you be happy in this Merry Month of May.  Blessings.

APRIL IN VERMONT

April in Vermont, in fact, in the Northern Hemisphere, harkens spring. While the opposite may be true in the Southern Hemisphere, October-like days, we are seeing signs of growth everywhere from longer days to flowers, shrubs and trees. In fact, one of the possible origins of the word, April, is the Latin Aprilis, suggesting opening. 

Warren Spring by Jeb Wallace-Brodeur
Warren Spring by Jeb Wallace-Brodeur

As in other parts of the world, April kicks off with April Fools’ Day, often includes Easter, and tops it off with Earth Day, 4-22. This year, Easter was celebrated early in April which means the rest of the month seems slow to catch onto the notion that spring should be happening.

When actually, here in Vermont, we have a history of snow through May and even on rare occasions into June. And not just on the mountain tops!

One of my memories involves a sunny day in April when I uncharacteristically and impulsively played hooky with my kids, packed lunches, and spent the day on the mountain. Since soft snow slowed us down, I was able to ski terrain that was otherwise impossible for me, (of course my kids were just fine), and we had a full day of unstructured, simple joy.

Another memory was of a May Mother’s Day celebration that needed a last-minute change of venue. My children had planned a picnic for me – so sweet – but we needed to cancel the trek and move it to the hayloft of our barn. They pushed hay bales around to form a table and benches, decorated, and opened the hayloft doors out of which we could see snow falling heavily. Go figure. But it is a celebration I remember in detail when other more perfect plans have been filed in deeper vaults of memory.

As I write, it is chilly. Tomorrow will be the day of the (in)famous Mad River Triathlon – comprised of four events. A few weeks ago, mamma bears and their cubs began to explore the Valley in which I live. There is a mamma and 3 yearling cubs (and their den) quite close to my front door – less than 1,000’ I’d estimate. So far we have not met in person, but news traveled through the community. My dogs are on high alert and my grip on their leashes is unrelenting. (High alert is exhausting.)

High alert is exhausting.

My chocolate Lab, Sophie, sits at my big windows and barks at robins hopping around just outside. A little farther away, I spotted two ducks making their annual pilgrimage to our pond. Down in the field below our home there has been a pair of geese walking or simply basking in whatever sun appears. 

As some of you know, my entire community was buzzing with construction activity from last spring through fall. As the snow melts this year, areas that had been excavated around our homes groan for attention. On this morning’s walk, Sophie ran off to inspect something – it was a huge dump of topsoil. Yay, help is on the way. And soon I will be able to see what I can reconstruct on my patio, where I might add some plantings, and how I might bring back my small but beloved sanctuary.

Lizzie, my yellow Lab, is finally settling and has accepted that, while Sophie roams off leash, she must remain on. She does not complain (especially since she gets her own time with me and blocks of ball play on the basketball court now that we’ve thawed) and is often simply confused about what Sophie might be up to. Her latent sudden bolt can catch me by surprise – but it’s only a chipmunk or squirrel. 

Perhaps what I love most about April here, though, is the subtlety. One must make the effort to look closely. But signs of growth are happening. Subtle signs indeed. And perhaps that is the lesson of the month. While speed and efficiency are good in their rightful environment, taking time to pause and to notice may bring unanticipated pleasure.

Someone dear to me gifted me with a small book about this year of the Yang Fire Horse according to Traditional Chinese Medicine.  The author writes about these April weeks:  “Growth begins gently. Energy turns outward, but vision matters more than speed.”* We are in the season of the element Wood, according to TCM. Observing new growth in nature, budding trees and warming earth, it makes sense to relate the outside world to our inner being as we emerge from winter’s shorter days and quiet times of renewal. It is no accident that many of us are motivated, filled with a sense of anticipation and encouraged by possibilities. All that remains is for us to put into action developing energies. 
I will close these thoughts with a quote from my gift which, I believe, says it all!

“Growth now has somewhere to come from …let the Horse find its stride.”*

*Traditional Chinese Medicine, Yang Fire Horse Lunar Health Planner 2026, Lindsay Herrara Kaplan, L.Ac., Achieving Health, LLC