May is nearly history

I'm not referring to the soon-to-be former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom but to the month itself.

May.

It is never merely May, though, It is invariably called, by the trite and unimaginative, "the merry month of May" and I cannot help noticing the alliteration. Carrying it a bit further, May's full MOON was extraordinarily stunning in a cloudless sky, and the MAGNOLIA trees hereabouts have burst into MAGNIFICENT bloom a couple of weeks earlier than their usual June explosion, accompanied by the pink cloud-puff extravaganza of MIMOSAS.

Yes, May is many things -- merriment, moonlight, magnolias, mimosas -- even at times mushrooms -- but this year for the rhymeswithplague family it has also been something else.

MOMENTOUS.

Even if you think every May is momentous, this one was more momentous than usual for the rhymeswithplague clan.

The ordinary momentousness of May includes our granddaughter Ansley's birthday on the 4th (her 19th), my dad's birthday on the 12th (his 117th if he were still with us but alas, he is not), Mother's Day (this year on the 12th also), our daughter Angela's wedding anniversary on the 15th (her 26th), our own anniversary on the 19th (our 56th), and our grandson Sawyer's birthday on the 24th (his 20th).

This year, however, May was bursting at the seams with several more family events that made this May more momentous than most.

(Note to self: Stop with the alliteration already.)

First, our grandson Matthew graduated from Duke University in Durham, North Carolina. Here he is standing in front of Duke Chapel.

Here he is with his parents and his sister, the 19-year-old whose smile includes the fact that she just completed her first year at the University of Georgia.

There were a few others at the ceremony also (click to enlarge):

Then our grandson Elijah graduated from LaGrange College in LaGrange, Georgia.

Here he is with his mother (our daughter-in-law), who looks young enough to be his girlfriend. His dad was unable to attend as he had the responsibility of leading a weekend retreat in the mountains..

Finally, our youngest grandson, Sam, graduated from high school over in Alabama.

Here he is with his parents, his older brother Sawyer, and Sawyer's girlfriend, Camryn, who was also in the graduating class.

Sam and Camryn will be joining Sawyer at his university in the fall. It isn't really his university, but you get what I mean.

To top off the month with one last momentous occasion, our daughter, who has been an assistant principal at a middle school for the last four years, was offered, and has accepted, a position as a full-fledged principal at a primary school in another part of the state, effective July 1st.

May has been exhausting, but I am smiling.