It’s May and the month is full of celebrations. Cinco de Mayo (May 5), Mother’s Day (May 14), Memorial Day (May 29) are the familiar ones to us. But perhaps you have not heard of International No Diet Day (May 6), Fair Trade Day (May 13), National Apple Pie Day (May 13), International Peace and Disarmament Day (May 23), National Teacher’s Day ( May 8), National Children’s Mental Health Day (May 11), National Receptionist’s Day (May 10), National Military Spouse Appreciation Day (May 12), National Learn to Swim Day (May 20) and there are even more.
I’m sorry I missed International No Diet Day and I’m looking forward to National Apple Pie Day. Striking to me this year and 3 years post Covid Lockdown of March 2020, I feel especially grateful to our teachers — talk about the unsung heroes of Covid and online teaching and their heroic efforts for our kids. I also feel especially mindful of National Children’s Mental Health Day. These are our kids; our next generations; the future of our country and world; and they are struggling mightily. From where I sit, we need to give teachers more support, more resources, more compensation and more respect which then only translates to giving learning and love and life and safety to our kids.
And then there is Mother’s day. We all have one or have had one, one way or another. Celebrations of mothers and motherhood can be traced back to ancient Greeks and Romans who held festivals in honor of the goddesses. Memories of my own mother, Patricia, are strong. She was an elementary grade school teacher, a woman who loved her children more than anything. She gave us life, unconditional love, an ethical compass, a well-fed well-run home, a drive to better ourselves and stressed the importance of education. She did this with regular sacrifice to her own well-being, that I only understood years later. She did what mothers do, at least when they have the strength, resources and mental health to do so.
So this May, I’m going to give the mothers – love; the teachers – respect; the kids – the support, care, guidance and resources they need to evolve into healthy adults. This is naturopathic medicine – caring for the whole, caring for the well-being of the mind, the body and the spirit. This is what I hope a community-minded village of people does together. Whether we share family, friends, towns, states or nations. The health of the individual is ultimately only as good as the health of the whole. But don’t forget about National Apple Pie Day.
