Random Thoughts - Forgotten Memories

May Day

Random Thoughts - Forgotten Memories
or, what happens when the shy are chosen

shyness has been a lifelong companion

but never more so than the last saturday in april of my 14th year –

the parish was choosing who would crown Mary,

a lavish parish celebration which began with a community feast …

it was an honour to any 8th grade girl to be chosen –

spoken of as prelude for most to confirmation –

and the choosing was a lesson in itself,

an opportunity to learn about detachment and faith …

for this choosing wasn’t based on qualifications, or achievement –

but, as mary was chosen by God,

so too was the one who would crown her be chosen by God –

who, in this case, rendered his decision by means of a plastic almond

(easier on the teeth than the hidden coin, i suppose)

delivered inside cupcakes served to all the 8th grade girls

once the communal meal was finished, usually a grand potluck –

may has magic
and maypoles
and mother's day
and happy month of mary
-nht

it was the moment every 8th grade girl thought about all year (well, most anyway)

because whoever got the almond was the chosen one to crown Mary -
the chosen one wore a her crown, was enthroned and carried in procession to the church
on the shoulders of young men - with any luck her crush might be one of them

for most, it was a magical day ...

so here’s how it went down that day for this deathly shy one …
yes, i could've just not taken a cupcake,
but chocolate has such an unspeakable attraction,
and besides, what're the odds?

And yet so it was at that very first bite,

my teeth imprinting deeply on the almond in my cupcake,

a flush rose up from my shoulders shrouding my head in a fog -

i looked out over the sea of parish girls my age (i was tall)

and begged God that mine wasn’t the only hidden almond …

as my eyes scanned the bobbing heads of excitement,

my prayer grew more fervent … please take this away from me ...

and i grew more desperate exactly at the very moment
i realized how my silence about this thing in my mouth would let down so many people …

still i prayed for relief, yet teetering on indecision's precipice,

through the most awful, longest eternity ever

when at last another's voice from across the hall rang out:
I found it!

i was so grateful that i had to will my knees to stay locked,
lest i crumble to the ground …

now fast forward about 30 years and move 3000 miles across the country --

imagine: out of the blue getting word from the director of religious education
at the local parish where you taught, together with the knights of columbus

that they'd chosen your eldest daughter

to crown Mary in their parish’s annual May celebrations

i couldn't help it, but one warped thought came to my mind:

you can run, but you can’t hide

Happy May Day 2016 everyone -- if nothing else,

look to the maypole and see what beauty we can create

when we work together …

NHT

'...ever see a May Pole Dance?