April’s Showers Bring….May’s YOU Challenge!

How do I know it is May?

In my meadow, the yellow dots of yesterday have transformed into fluffy cotton balls sitting on top of straws. Tomorrow they will be in various stages of disarray, like my hair.

In my pond, the chaotic anthem of peeping fills the spring night with noise. The silent nights of winter are over. Holy nights are year-round.

On the street corner in town, the strawberry man has set up rows and rows of farm baskets, strawberries toppling over the sides. He tells me he drove to the South Carolina flat lands last night, to a farm, just to share these large, sweet, fresh lovelies with us mountain folk. (okay, so yes, he was also selling those No-Bake Chocolate Cookies I love so much. Got a bag. And okay, yes, fresh cheddar cheese curds too. How could I resist?)

On a neighboring farm, the baby cows born in late fall have left their mothers, forced to a new life of independence on a different farm. I hear the mothers’ wailing for days, until they accept the stark reality of life as a mother cow. Or maybe they forget why they were lamenting. I wonder what the memory power of a cow is.

Just a few weeks ago we got hit with more snow. My garlic, having just popped up from its winter slumber to see the light, was unimpressed. My chickens agreed with the garlic: they had a meeting and boycotted the out-of-doors this snowy day.)

And then. The sunniness of this past weekend gave us all confidence that winter had moved out. I dragged my potted fig plant outside, the one I’ve been babying all winter in my garage. I made a fatal decision to leave it out last night. We were hit with a freeze and heavy, thick frost. RIP fig dreams.

And I write this blog post OUTSIDE, for the very first time in months and months. HELLO, MAY!

May makes me…

happy. hopeful. revitalized. alive.

It has always been so, but I find it to be even MORE so where I live now. I think it is because of the real winters here. Winter is harsh and snowy and cold and blustery. Back in Atlanta, the seasons are all blend-y. Winter there is not much different from spring and fall. (well, except for summer, which is not blend-y at all. Georgia summers are “hotter than Satan’s house cat.”)

But May. Oh May. You usher in loveliness.

AND YOU ALSO usher in the special time of the YOU Challenge. It is our 5th year! whaaaaaaat? Yep!

So let’s grab our shoes and put a song in you heart.  Let’s go strolling together every day in merry, merry month of May. You, My Friend, are the You in YOU Challenge. Not your family, not your co-workers, not your church family, not anybody else. Just you. This month is dedicated to you, at least for a few minutes each day.

I know at first just the thought of taking time for yourself gives you a twitch in your eye. I mean, how can everyone get by if you take 30 minutes a day for you; hey, they’ll live. They’ll do fine. And that twitch will be gone by the end of the month. Your head will be clearer. You’ll breathe in more oxygen with each breath you take. You’ll feel better, physically and emotionally. And it’s so easy. Just go outside and put one foot in front of the other. The combination of fresh air, movement, and togetherness is magical. Doing something for yourself, declaring that you are worth it, is a transformational thing.

The original challenge was this: each and every day in May, lace up your walking shoes and head outside, no matter what. No. Matter. What.

Then, it evolved for some folks into doing something other than walking for themselves,  swimming, biking, journaling, drawing, etc.

One year we added drinking lemon water in the morning before our coffee. That was refreshing and hydrating, so that’s a permanent part of it now.

And share. If you share your journey, you’ll bless us all.

And we all want to see where you walk! Take photos! And we want to hear how your walk was! And how you are feeling! Or if you are choosing to do something besides walking for you, we want to hear about that too.

So. You in????

May Day, May 1^st,  is the day we begin, but you can join in any time. When you read this post, make an agreement with yourself to do something for YOU. We have a Facebook group (Here’s the link. It’s private, you have to request to join.) where we post pics and chat up a storm. We encourage each other and enjoy our time together. So much fun. And so inspiring and encouraging. JOIN US!

I’ve particularly excited this year. I have been looking forward to it! In joyful anticipation, I got home this evening and mowed the overgrown path on my farm that I like to walk. It takes me through the rows of Christmas trees and out into the horse pasture. Whew, my winter months were full of heavy lifting; it has taken a toll on my soul. Of course, I say that every year: oh I’ve never needed this more; oh, this came just in time; oh, this and that.

But it is true every single year. I need this month of May challenge with my sisters. Shall we, Dear Ones? Let’s!

Want more info on the YOU Challenge? Check out these posts.

Here’s the original post from 2014.

Here’s the post from 2015. (boy, I miss those trail shoes. Got my money out of those babies.)

Here’s the post from 2016.

Here’s the post from 2017.

So, come along!

Until next time, Friends, savor the flavor of life!
Lots of love, Rebekah, City Farmgirl in the Country

P.S.

“Life’s a trippy thing.”

I heard this song for the very first time today. It’s weird and perky and fantastic. Frank and Nancy Sinatra. Here’s a link. It’s sure to make you smile.