Ahhhhh.....it's May!  May always makes me feel a little nostalgic..........like a school kid again.  A May day has a different look about it....they're just a little brighter and clearer than other days of the year.  The birds sing just a little louder.  It's a month that brings back happy memories for me.       

Back in the day, when the calendar was turned from April to May, I'd get that excited feeling in my stomach as all of us, kids, knew that the end of school was getting so, so close.  Invariably, sometime in the month of May, our class would enjoy some kind of special day whether it was a May Day at the school, a field trip out of town, or a day at a local attraction.  Regardless, it meant that there was no classwork that day. 

I remember one year, my Mama bought me a pink and brown striped shirt with matching pink jeans at the local Sears Roebuck for my May field trip.  I believe it was Garanimals and who didn't feel extra chic in those?  I got on the bus that year feeling extra cocky. I also remember that, for some reason, she always washed my tennis shoes the night before a field trip.  I suppose it was from the same school of thought as having clean underwear in case of an accident.  On the morning of the big day, if the shoes weren't quite dry, the hair dryer would take turns in each shoe to dry up the last bit of moisture.    

Field trip day meant that I didn't carry my usual Muppet Show metal lunchbox and thermos.  No, field trips were brown bag occasions.  Since there was no thermos involved, my mother would wrap the Chek cola flavor of my choice in a few layers of aluminum foil as this was the cutting edge of drink insulation in the 70's.  Throw in a Little Debbie, some Golden Flake chips in a fold over sandwich bag with a PBJ and you were ready to get on the bus.
May also brought the dreaded piano recital.  It was always something you hated, but you knew in order to get to those 3 golden, lesson-less summer months that you had to do it and get it over with.  I loathed piano lessons when I was little.  I didn't mind them so much when I got to be a teenager, but when I was younger......yeah, loathe would be the appropriate word.  I was always woefully unprepared for my lesson each week and by the time I left the teacher's house at 4:30 on Thursday afternoon, it felt like the world had been lifted from my 9 year old shoulders.  Every, single day, while the sun was shining, the birds were singing and the yard was filled with the sound of children playing, I would be sitting on the piano stool putting in my 45 minutes....pecking out beautifully moving pieces like "The Swan Song" and "Evening Prelude".  Forty-five minutes seemed like at least 13 months to a young girl, who just wanted to ride her banana seat bike with the long, flowing streamers.
I remember at one recital, I was sporting my YoYo shoes and looking too good.  I was to perform a Bach piece with which you're never supposed to use the pedal.  I always questioned Bach's judgment with the whole pedal thing as I felt the songs were a bit flat without it.  The night of the recital, I decided that I would overrule Bach and my piano teacher and insert some pedal....I mean, what could she do......stop the recital?  I took my chances and pressed my YoYo down on that damper pedal.  Oh, you've never heard Bach sound so good!  Afterwards, I'll never forget my piano teacher pulling me aside and assuring me that Bach had, indeed, rolled over in his grave on that evening.  I didn't care if Bach was facing up or down.....he was still dead and me and my plastic Mozart were outa there for three, glorious months.

May always brought around the standardized tests, which was another one of my favorites.  Back then, they seemed pretty easy and there wasn't any preparation for them....you just bubbled in the correct circle with the golden #2s that your mama had been instructed to send in the same note that asked that she get us to bed early.  For the rest of the school day, we were able to do fun things like an extra long games of kickball or Mother, May I?.  Whatever happened to those fun playground games we used to play?  Red Rover, Doggie Doggie Who's Got the Bone?, Red Light Green Light. 
My birthday falls in May, which is another reason for its warm recollections.  Birthdays weren't HUGE like they are now, but just big enough to make you feel awesome for the day.  I remember having a couple of parties at the skating rink, but mostly my parties consisted of a cake in the backyard with the neighborhood kids.  We'd get one or two modest gifts from the parents and a few little things from friends....add a cake of some description and getting to choose what was for supper and you had yourself a special day.

I don't know how, but every year when May rolls in, I still get those same feelings.  A month full of special days and treats....doing things out of the normal routine....having feelings of accomplishment......anticipation of fun days ahead......finally crossing the finish line. 

It's been a long time since I turned in a textbook, performed in a recital, or played Red Rover, but I still feel like I did back then........in May.