May

Things you should know about May:

The Kentucky Derby is in May. The main event will occur over the weekend of May 3rd, where 120,000 mint juleps will be poured, 25,000 nut-and-chocolate Derby pies will be served and 554 roses will be placed in the winner’s garland. The website is http://www.kentuckyderby.com/.

May is Foster Care month. There are 513,000 children in foster care in the United States. If you have the desire to help, please go to http://www.fostercaremonth.org/.

This May celebrates the 50th anniversary of Lego bricks. Per year, children worldwide spend 5 billion hours playing with Lego blocks. Mother’s Day is Sunday, May 11th. I was going to recap the history of Mother’s Day, however it is far more complicated than I realized; so instead of trying to rewrite all of it, if you are interested in learning about it, go to http://www.theholidayspot.com/mothersday/history.htm.

My beautiful Mother and handsome Father in Hawaii, 2007.

May is prime time allergy season. For a four-day pollen-count forecast, go to http://www.pollen.com/ and put in your zip code.

May is the best time to buy cookware; retailers temporarily mark down prices in time for wedding season and college graduation.

Armed Forces Day is celebrated the 3rd Saturday of May. The United States honors the men and women of the military services, including the Army, Navy, and the Air Force. Prior to 1950 each one of the military branches were celebrated on different days.

The Cinco De Mayo (May 5th in Spanish) also takes place in May. It is the anniversary of the Mexican victory over the French at Puebla in 1862.

May 17th is Independence Day for Norway (just for you, Mom!).

Emerald is the birthstone for May.

Hawthorn and Lily of the Valley are the flowers for May.