The Memories of May

Where has the year gone? Just yesterday we were celebrating the holidays and now I’m planning for my daughter’s graduation from high school. My Granny Devine always did say time speeded up as you got older, and now I’m seeing this is so true.

While I’m not a hot weather, summer person, I am glad to finally leave the cold days of winter behind. Too many days of sub-zero weather has made my joints ache and creak, so I’m ready for a change. Warmer weather means more time in the garden, more time to walk and more time to soak up the daylight. The month of May is the perfect time to shed our winter skins and slip into the latest summer fashions. After months of cabin fever and overwhelming darkness, you feel an almost rebirth at the excess of sunshine and warmth.

May has always been a transition month for my family. We are transitioning from the long winter and spring into the warmth of summer and from school to summer break. We are transitioning from slow time, early darkness and structured schedules to fast time, later sunsets and relaxed casualness. We say goodbye to prime-time television, large pots of chili and blue jeans with sneakers and say hello to drive-in movies, salad from the Farmer's Market and shorts with flip flops. This year, May is bringing some major milestones to my family and signs of change are everywhere.

As I mentioned earlier, Christine will be graduating from Mercer County Senior High this month and it’s a happy and sad event, all rolled up into one. Where has the time gone? My household is growing smaller and smaller every minute and it's a shock to the system. While I am extremely proud of Christine's accomplishments, it is going to be so sad when she is gone.
I cannot believe I will no longer have any children in the local school system. Christine has been offered a full four-year scholarship to Berea College and she is excited to get started on her college career. As we wade through paper work and make lists of everything she will need to take with her, my heart is feeling a little sad. She will be moving to Berea in August and I realize this is only a short distance away, but it is going to be strange to not have her close to me. What am I supposed to do without a child in the house?

I am so incredibly proud of all three of my daughters – I could not have asked for three better girls if I had tried to order them from a catalog. They are all intelligent and responsible adults and they fill my life with joy. Next month, we will be adding a new granddaughter to our family, so we will have another girl to dote on and spoil rotten. Devon Mikayla is already a special girl and she will have us all wrapped right around her little finger.

May 19th is a special day for Keith and I – it will be our 20th wedding anniversary. We have been together for 24 years and are happy to be celebrating such a great milestone. Like most couples, we have had our ups and downs, our sicknesses and health, our richer and poorer, but we have created a unique family with strong ties and our bond is even stronger today than it was 20 years ago. We have raised three beautiful, intelligent daughters and they are our pride and joy and we are both looking forward to spoiling the grandchildren. We may not have done everything right, but we keep plugging away and try to keep everyone happy and on an even keel.

Of course, May also brings us Mother’s Day, and although I only think of myself as an average mom, I am blessed with two extraordinary mothers. My mother, Brenda Sallee, has always been there to encourage me and keep me on the straight and narrow. She is a special lady and I can never thank her enough for everything she has done for me. My mother-in-law, Christine Holtzclaw Rightmyer, is also a special lady and I am blessed to have her in my life. I thank God everyday that she brought Keith into my life. is also a great lady and I am so thankful she brought my hubby into my life.

A big event my writing group – The Community of Mercer County Writers – is hosting this year will be on May 8th and we hope it will become an annual event. We are partnering with the Mercer County Humane Society to present “Prose and Poetry for Pets.” This will be on the block of Main Street near the Humane Society and The Harrodsburg Herald and will start at 11am. There will be lots of activities: pet paintings, poetry and prose readings, food vendors, pet adoptions and other animal relate activities. The Community of Mercer County Writers has published a chapbook - “Prose and Poetry for Pets” - which they will be selling for $5, with all proceeds going to the Mercer County Humane Society.

As you can see, May is shaping up to be an exciting, memorable month. It will be a time of great joy and happiness, and I look forward to making lots of new memories. Reconnecting with family and friends should be a priority this year, so why not plan some special events with your loved ones. Time is only getting shorter, so make the most of it while you still can. Remember, memories live on forever.