Wednesday, May 24, 2023

My May's Birthday And Also, Her Birth Day


There is our beautiful birthday girl, May. We celebrated her today in typical our-family fashion. First all of us who could, had lunch at what I have no doubt is the best restaurant in Tallahassee, Kool Beanz. In all honesty, it is quite possibly the only restaurant around where I feel that the food is better than what I cook. It just is. 
So May and Michael and Rachel and Mr. Moon and I gathered there and enjoyed the best lunch. Then we broke out the cake I made yesterday and oh, honeys. It was a fine cake.




I grated fresh ginger into the cake batter this time and that worked perfectly with all of the other spices. SO good. We gave our server a piece, too. I hope he enjoyed it. 

And then on we all went (except for Mr. Moon) to a nearby thrift store called City Walk which is a Christian organization but much to my delight, they have quit playing Christian rock in the store and have replaced it with the music that I grew up on, meaning lots of Rolling Stones and Beatles and James Brown and so on and so forth, which made our shopping all the more fun. Hank had gotten off of work and he joined us and we joyfully explored all the goods. It is really an excellent thrift store with tons of bowls and baskets




and you know how much I love those. I got a book collection of humorous writing for children and I hope with all of my heart that Levon and August will let me read some of it to them. I got a green vase and I also bought some very nice souvenir type dolls. This one is my favorite. 



I can imagine that Boud and Joanne will be able to place her origin by looking at her clothing which appears to be made from handmade textiles. And also, she is holding a spindle- she is spinning yarn. Although her head appears to have been broken at one time, her beautifully painted face is still lovely and so is that of the baby she is wearing on her back who is peeking boldly over her shoulder. She is in a place of honor right now in my bathroom which is, truthfully, the prettiest room in the entire house. 

We had so much fun at the thrift store. We wandered and laughed and pointed things out, both beautiful and absurd. Funny memories were triggered by different items and I, for one, enjoyed the whole experience. I think we all did. 

On all of my children's birthdays I can't help but remember so many details about their births and they days they were born. I had wanted to have Hank at home but ended up in the hospital where he was born not even an hour later and we did go home that same day which was unheard of in 1976. And so with May, I was hopeful that I could give birth in my own bed and my underground midwives and a good friend came to be with me in the tiny trailer in the woods that my first husband and I were living in with our almost-two-year-old Hank, just a few miles down the road from where I live now. I am a woman who takes forever to have a baby and with May the process was very long and very slow. But under the watchful eyes of my midwives I finally did have that precious baby just as the sun was starting to light the sky.
I always say that Hank taught me what love truly is when he was born. I had absolutely no concept of how much I would love my baby. He blew out my heart to make room for that love in a way I did not know was possible and I spent my entire pregnancy with May feeling guilty and scared because I was absolutely convinced that I could never love another child the way I loved Hank. 
And then she was born and I realized with absolute certainty that there is no limit on how much we love. That the capacity of our hearts is infinite and unfathomable. I looked into her eyes and held her to my breast and I loved her, plain and simple, pure and precious. 

That is how it was when May was born. And she has always been a light to me and to this world. She is wicked smart, she has more talents than I can list. She can write like nobody else. She can tell jokes that will make you blush and roar. She is the most loving and empathetic person I know. She can draw and paint and sew and make beauty. Michael got her a dressmaker form for her birthday so that she can start making more clothes. I think that was a perfect gift. 
And speaking of Michael, when we were all about to get in our cars and go home, he hugged me so tight. 
"Thank you for my May," he said. 
"My pleasure," I said. 

Truth. 

Happy birthday, my darling girl. Thank you for coming to me. I saw your light before I knew I was pregnant even though I don't believe in that sort of woo-woo. You are just that brilliant of a soul. 

All love...Ms. Moon, May's Mama






 

32 comments:

  1. Happy birthday May! She's beautiful. And happy memory day to her mom, too. I wonder if our kids realize we relive their birth on their birthday? Never forget.

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    1. Well, our kids realize when their mom TALKS ABOUT IT EVERY YEAR! Like me.

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  2. I forgot that that I'd guess your doll is either Bolivian or maybe Peruvian, but I'm open to suggestion.

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    1. Linda Sue says Peruvian. I was thinking either that or Bolivian. Definitely South American.

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  3. Also thank you for the link. There. I think I've finished commenting now!

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  4. dear May.....as lovely and loved as the day she was born. May joy surround her today and always! And that doll you bought today....should rest near your Lady of Guadalupe somewhere.......
    Susan M

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    1. She is not near a VoG but there are two other madonnas right near her.

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  5. What a wonderful post. May babies are special. When Two was born (24th May!) the world became a bit shinier and has remained that way.

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  6. I can only guess on the doll and the rest is someone else to hypothesize. She may start with the Yucatan, or even much of Mexico north. There is so much Mayan culture still alive there. But it extended south to South America, Peru. So many tribes represented. But I question the baby. Mayan women carried babies in front, in cloth carriers that became famous again at the turn of the current century. Especially the baby's bonnet and the book, Has Anyone Seen My Harmonica, makes me think all that was a later addition.
    I would love to know more about the basket. It looks as if it were handmade.

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    1. I'm thinking definitely South American. The spindle makes me think of making wool from llama fur. Hair? Whatever. I really love her clothing.

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  7. Your new old dolly is Peruvian. Her hat and her skirt say so. I can only hope that our babies keep having birthdays and that we keep remembering our ushering them into this dodgy existence. Your kids lucked out totally! You are an amazing Mom, and grand mom!You are correct, there is no limit to the love we feel once the heart is embiggened! And no limit to the ache that that growth spurt experiences.

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    1. Girl, you said it truly about the hearts.
      Thanks for the insight on this new lady in my house. She is quite regal in my opinion.

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  8. 37paddington: Happy birthday to May! So much love in your family. It’s beautiful to see.

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  9. I wish her many, many happy returns of the day!

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  10. That doll is lovely - she looks just like the Inca ladies I saw in Peru (I just love the colours). And happy birthday May!

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    1. The colors are so vibrant, aren't they? I do love cultures that are not afraid of color whether on houses and buildings or in clothing.

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  11. Happy Birthday to May. I didn't feel that connection with my firstborn, I think I was a little bit afraid to become a mother and had no idea what to do. We managed and I do love her, but the connection was easier with the rest of them.

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    1. I am so sorry that you did not feel that connection right away but I know that is not unusual. As young as I was when I had Hank and May, I think I was completely ready to be a mother. At least in some ways. It came very naturally to me. I know I'm lucky.

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  12. Happy birthday May! I love living your thrift store adventures vicariously. I would guess South America on the doll -- Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador? Not that I'm really any kind of expert. The "hormones" message isn't part of the doll, right? It's on the shelf behind it? :D

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    1. Haha! No, the hormones thing is on a magnet which is on a Mexican mirror.There is a lot going on in that bathroom. More than even I realize. In the decor sense, I mean.

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  13. It sounds like Michael is a keeper~

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    1. Absolutely! He loves his May and she loves him.

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  14. Happy birthday to beautiful, talented May! I miss her writing -- I remember it as being astounding.

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    1. You remember correctly. I have often thought (and probably said) that she's the best writer in the family. She's kept a journal since childhood. A daily journal. But I think that's all of the writing she's doing. Which is very sad.

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  15. "Thank you for my May"... What a beautiful thing Michael said to you.

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  16. Your lovely Doll is definitely South American, I'd say the Hat looks Peruvian. I hope May's Birthday was Memorable.

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Tell me, sweeties. Tell me what you think.