Maycember is real (June 1 '25)
I learned the term "Maycember" after moving back to the US. This is part of US parenting – the overload of the end of school year that feels like end of year/Christmas with all of the preparations and expectations. The cognitive load of all of the various logistics and deadlines and events is intense.
I've been busy between volunteering, work, and various end of school year things. It's been raining a lot, which we needed given that we've been under extended drought conditions, but it makes things like soccer schedules less predictable. The fields closed several times. We had a weeknight makeup game.
But the plants are thriving. Last year was our first spring at our house, so we had no idea what to expect. The person who lived here before – for fifty years – was an avid gardener in his retirement, and seeing how everything had been planted and timed so that something was constantly blooming between the start of spring and end of summer was both delightful and intimidating.
This spring we had a sense of the general cycles of our various plants, and I decided to try a few things. Last year, we had to take out a diseased cherry tree, and our only other change then was to plant an oak to match the one we planted in the forest outside of Lausanne when M was a year old – a lovely Lausannois tradition. This Mother's Day, we did some container gardening, not unlike our balcony garden in Lausanne.
And I decided to pull some invasive bushes (that are no longer legal to plant in MA!) and replace them with native plants. I did a lot of research and consulted with our landscaper, who understood what I was trying to do (although she said she had to do a bit of research, too, because most clients don't care whether species are native!). She came up with some better suggestions, and I'm happy with the changes we made. Everything is growing in and thriving, and I like the feeling of caring for a place.
I'm also trying to better document which plants are where, when various plants bloom, and how to care for everything.
In May, we also held our now annual Eurovision party, which was fun, and I mostly protested but partially visited my college reunion. I've been to every reunion except for the one canceled due to Covid and immediately registered for this year's. But then there was a nearly monthlong strike by non-tenure track faculty and some really nasty strikebreaking tactics by my college, and I couldn't in good conscience participate in the official reunion. I canceled my registration, let the school know why, and my college roommate did the same and came out to stay with me instead.
We didn't participate in any official reunion activities, but we visited our friends on campus one afternoon and walked around campus.
Some friends came out to my place for brunch. It was really lovely to see everyone, and I hope the college finally treats employees fairly – no, not just fairly, but well. Part of what has been so upsetting about the contract situation is that from the moment we step onto campus as first-years, we have the college's motto drilled into us: Non ministrari, sed ministrare – Not to be served but to serve. The college should lead by example and support their own who are in precarious positions.
On campus, my friends and I walked through the gardens and new greenhouses. At home, we did a tour of outdoor spaces and hiked in the woods and went to more museums. As part of our non-reunion activities, my roommate and I took our kids to the Museum of Science and to the WNDR Museum, which is new. I'd like to go through the latter more slowly sometime.
And now we're wrapping things up for the school year – French school is done for good, Trivia Club is over for the school year, soccer and piano will wrap up with the final game and recital on the same weekend. Maycember runs to mid-June.
I want to slow it all down and have more time for each of these events and activities and milestones. I want to escape the chaos that's being forced on all of us and have slow time – like plant time, slow and cyclical – "vegetable love" time. I want to plant seeds and watch them sprout and take root and grow.
