When I was a little girl, we used to celebrate May 1 by picking lilies of the valley (sometimes from the neighbors’ own gardens) and putting them on people’s doorsteps, then ringing the bell and running away to hide. From a distant hedge, we would watch the recipients’ reactions. That prank did constitute trespassing, I suppose, and the work occasioned some furious fits of giggles that led to hiccups, and possibly some uprooted plants, but no long-lasting damage. The neighbors smiled, as I remember, and even called out, “Thank you!” knowing full well that we were nearby watching.
Does anyone else remember doing that? Among all the strife, fear, and anger polluting our world today, it is nice to remember a time when wetting our pants out of giggling was the biggest fear on our minds.
Yours in nostalgia,
Julia
Photo of Lily of the Valley flower by H. Zell – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=9592154
For the record, here is yesterday’s face mask production:
Daily Joy with Honey Girl 