With our late winter, I’m sure we’re all excited to see green emerge from the various shades of grey and brown. Although one snowy April day this past month I did remind my wife that at least the highway signs were green. She didn’t think it was funny.

I associate May with the beginning of the gardening season, Mother’s Day, and the first hopeful long weekend that has the potential (yes, the odds aren’t in our favour) to get outside and experience some great weather. The first two, Mother’s Day and gardening seem to be inseparable. The May long weekend is more rooted in delusion than reality. As a family we would be outside in and around Mother’s Day planting the annuals and prepping the garden beds etc. (Note I grew up in the interior of BC, not Alberta). Mom would be outside ensuring spacing was accurate; making suggestions, and we would all be doing the work. It’s a happy memory, although I’m sure time is causing me to forget any complaining I may have had in being required to work. As it was difficult for my mom to navigate the work physically, I always enjoyed seeing her delight in the end result. She used a combination of a creative eye mixed with the ability to command action through kindness. I’m sure she would have liked to do more of the hands-on work, but as kids I don’t remember her ever complaining about her physical limitations. She leveraged other strengths to see the results she was looking to accomplish. As mom is no longer with us physically, it’s good to have memories of her influence living on. Mom taught me more than a love of aesthetic beauty, she taught me to learn to appreciate what I have, not what I lack.

With lots of great events happening this month, I would encourage you to go to our Community Calendar to see what’s happening in your area. We want to thank the many people who write and contribute the various community updates and articles on a regular basis. As we don’t rely on any government funding, your financial support is and has been appreciated in order to provide the not-for-profit organizations an effective means of reaching their community.