Life seems to be getting more normal each day, assuming you define normal as the way we lived during the first 19 years of this century.

Yesterday, my husband celebrated May Morning with Seabright Morris at sunrise near the Santa Cruz lighthouse in a group of about twelve people, which is nearly a record for SC. About half of those were dancers and/or musicians, and the rest onlookers. May Morning on Central Coast has little in common with May Morning in Oxford, but it is a treasured tradition of I believe 48 years, which impresses the locals.

At 11:00, my husband and I joined Kitchen Sink Molly at Baylands Nature Preserve in Palo Alto for the Silicon Valley version of the same event. We had three dancers, five musicians, and a range of 5-10 spectators throughout the hour plus we were there. We chose the later time partly in hopes of a larger audience, and partly because I refuse to get up early on days I don’t have to work, and while three dancers is really not enough, two is impossible, so I was able to get away with being a bit demanding.

Normal May Morning events in Cambridge, Massachusetts would have 100-200 people, multiple teams, singing, community dancing, multiple stands, maypole, muffin stop, and post-event party. I have heard there is a similar sized event in Tilden Regional Park near Berkeley, California. Neither of these took place last year. The Cambridge event was held live this year, but was significantly smaller–you can view the pictures at newtowne.org. The Tilden event was canceled again this year.

Back to more evidence of encroaching normalness, at the SF and SV stands there was also singing. In the Baylands we passed out music books so the crowd could join and many did, including some singing without masks, though widely spaced. We also saw a flock of 6-8 white pelicans feeding in one of the marshy areas extending their necks underwater and tails upward almost in unison, then reaching their beaks high to shake the fish down their throats. This was the first time I’ve seen that behavior, though it is surely quite normal for the pelicans.

Also normal: a 45-minute wait for seating at Peninsula Creamery, and a 15-minute traffic slowdown on the drive back over the hill. It was a beautiful day in the 70s, so we put the top down and enjoyed the view.

Today the outdoor Scottish dancers are meeting at 4:00. Some of the outdoor Scottish dancers are taking hands now that we are all vaccinated. In fact the group is so enthusiastic they are discussing extensions of this series. As the organizer, I have to remind them that outdoor Scottish dancing is *not* normal, in fact is bad for our feet and our form, so we need to get back into our nice church hall with its sprung floor asap. The church turned us down in April but asked us to call again in mid-May. Very hopeful! The 25-person international dance group is already meeting indoors at a Serbian church in Saratoga, weekly except for Orthodox Holy Week this week.

On May 4th the San Francisco Symphony will release tickets for their abbreviated 2021 season, which extends from mid-May through June. Vaccinated Guests Only! Event though both the crowd capacity and program length will be sub-normal, we are thrilled to return to Davies Symphony Hall.

Next Saturday our family of four will attend our first live San Francisco Opera performance in forever, a drive-in viewing of a 90-minute version of Barber of Seville on a large stage built for this purpose in Marin. That’s not normal exactly, but at least it is live. We had hoped to stay at the Pelican Inn, but they’re booking six months in advance (normal) so we’re just going to eat an early dinner there.

My husband and I have a trip planned to Tanglewood and Boston in July and August.

I’m sure you have heard that the EU is planning to open this summer to Americans with vaccinations.

Meanwhile, in SC we have indoor dining, movies, beauty services, and, most delightfully, mask-free options for The Vaxen. It’s not normal, not at all, but it’s normal-er.