Merry Mayday

We had been in isolation for fourteen months not venturing outside of our immediate environs. I was giddy with excitement. Fully vaccinated with numbers constantly improving we were going to travel. Since we didn’t get to have Christmas with my husband’s family, we were going to have a May day picnic as a delayed celebration.

First, to pack. We couldn’t find the night light we travel with until we got the suitcases. There it was patiently waiting for us to be freed. We left it in the overnight case the last time we travelled so we wouldn’t forget it the next time. Then we forgot that! It had been soooooo looooooong!

I was certain when we reached the county line we would hit a force field that would bounce us back home again – like Jim Carrey’s character did in “The Truman Show” movie. We held hands and successfully zipped across the county line. Then state lines were crossed into Mississippi, Tennessee, Kentucky, and finally, Illinois. It was a rush to be driving over fifty miles per hour while negotiating hills and curves and curves on hills. We’d almost forgotten how to drive on a highway. I even had to pass an Amish couple in their buggy. After the past 431 days in exile, it was very exciting!

I was concerned about going to a more locked down state. We have been mask-free since April 9th. My husband even wrote new lyrics to the tune of “Born Free” in honor of the emancipation. Once you’re vaccinated, losing the masks is the next step to normalcy – one we are eagerly taking! We did wear masks in the Kroger in Illinois to comply with the posted request. Our niece is the store manager and we wanted to keep her out of trouble!

My sister in law, her husband, and my brother in law hadn’t eaten in a restaurant yet even though they had opened, but they did with us. Two nights in a row. And my sister in law and I visited the alpaca ranch where my loom came from. I got to share some of my creations with them and of course, buy a little fiber for future spinning!

Saturday was the main event. The Christmas in May picnic in the park!

As you can see, it was a made to order day. Blue skies. Light breeze to flutter the tablecloths but keep the bugs away. Seventy five degrees. We had twenty-nine relatives from the immediate area in attendance. They hadn’t gotten together during the pandemic so it was nice for them to see one another too! We feasted on fried chicken and ham with all kinds of salads, devilled eggs, baked beans, and desserts galore! It was wonderful fun! The kids ran and played as all four generations of the family enjoyed the delayed celebration. Our nephew in law wanted to sing Christmas carols, but we refrained from that!

Later that afternoon we got to witness our great nephew go to his senior prom with a lovely date – but not until he had driven his dirt bike on the jump course in his back yard while wearing his tuxedo! Any girl who would tolerate that has to be a keeper! Luckily, the jump was successfully completed without incident and they were able to leave on time for their prom.

It was a jam packed two and a half days. We got up super early Sunday morning to beat the predicted bad weather. We ordered a pizza after unpacking, ate and then hit the hay! We were so exhausted we both slept over twelve hours. We didn’t realized we’d had a phone call just after going to bed until we saw the answering machine flashing light the next morning. I guess we were exhausted and out of practice!

Here’s wishing your “normal” becomes reality soon. Enjoy!