May or Can ... this month is full of both

Yes, I am talking about May as a month or permission and Can as ability.

How I love the month of May with Mothers Day, Memorial Day, and that magnificent gift of nature – flowers, flowers and more flowers. 

Please take time this month to acknowledge your mom for the life that she created, that being “you”. They mentor and coach us through childhood and a mother’s love seems to have no limits.  One year I sent a handwritten note instead of the traditional Hallmark card, telling my own mother how much she served as my mentor during my years of life and the influence she still has on the way that I regard others. She said that it was favorite. I was surpised until I recalled the many handwritten notes from each of my sons, which I still have to this day.

As professionals and business women, we may receive numerous accolades or awards for our accomplishments, but no title or professional designation sounds better to me than Mom. 

In June 2000, I spent most of an entire day at the Arlington Cemetery and was privileged to observe the changing of the guards at the tomb of the Unknown Soldier, which commemorates our American war dead from the World Wars, Korea, and Vietnam. Words are inadequate to express how I felt at that moment.  I experienced great pride to have been born here but could not stop myself from crying while watching the soldiers at that tomb. 

You may not have the opportunity to see it first hand, but you can visit our local veteran’s cemetery to witness the Memorial Day ceremony, wear one of the poppies that are frequently sold near that date, and absolutely thank the next soldier that you see in a uniform.  They deserve our honor, both past and present.

I cannot close this message without sharing some May trivia. 

• Mother's Day became a public holiday on May 9, 1914
• Memorial became a federal holiday in 1971, and is observed on the last Monday in May.
• May 15, 1940-nylon stockings went on sale for the first time in the US.

Lastly, I am absolutely convinced that flowers were created for the primary purpose of enjoyment and are to be unquestionably shared along with our memories between family and friends.   HAVE YOU HUGGED YOUR FLORIST TODAY?