ETL: Flourish in May

 

May is my very favorite month of the year, with flowers blooming, grass my choice of color: Fresh Green. Celebrations abound: graduations, weddings, retirements, vacations. I was born on Mother’s Day. One party we can schedule without planning ahead very far. Spontaneous. A newly labeled family tradition, a gathering my eldest grandson named long ago will hopefully be resumed soon. In a dreary February years ago, after we’d had Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Happy Days, he was a little bored. He told me he thought it was time we had another big party, get everyone together. I told him other than Groundhog’s Day, I found it hard to celebrate in February, (other than some important family birthdays we tried to hit). He said, “No, Grandma, I mean one of those parties where we just eat, talk and laugh.”

 

“Oh,” I said, “An ETL party? We can do that.” That’s what we did as soon as we could. We had the first official ETL party, a smashing success. All we did was Eat, Talk and Laugh. Sort of like a Cordova High School Reunion. No agenda, no presents, no negativity. Just people we love to Eat, Talk and Laugh with. This May could stand a couple of those in between all the Official Events. The virus has, as my father used to say, “put the Kabosh” on gatherings of any kind. But soon the weather will cooperate for outside spaced lawn chair groups with shared food. in the midst of this may be what I long for: unrestricted hugs. Can’t wait. Even some hair messing on the little ones would be nice! My dad used to give what he called “Dutchman’s Rubs” with his arm around your neck and his knuckles on your scalp. Talk about hair messing! But it was one of the ways he showed us he loved us. It was guaranteed to make people laugh.

 

Love. Let’s make May 2021 the lovingest, happy month in a long time. ETL.