Mother’s Day May 10

White hair is no joking matter!

One day, a little girl is sitting and watching her mother do the dishes at the kitchen sink. She suddenly notices that her mother has several strands of white hair sticking out in contrast to her brunette hair. She looks at her mother and inquisitively asks, "Why are some of your hairs white, Mom?" Her mother replied, "Well, every time you do something wrong and make me cry or unhappy, one of my hairs turns white." The little girl thought about this revelation for a while and then asked, "Momma, how come all of grandma's hairs are white?"

How do you know you're a mom?

You know you're a mom when...

You stop criticizing the way your mother raised you.

You automatically double-knot everything you tie.

You spend an entire week wearing sweats.

You have time to shave only one leg at a time.

Your feet stick to the kitchen floor, and you don't care.

You can't find your cordless phone, so you ask a friend to call you, and you run around the house madly, following the sound until you locate the phone downstairs in the laundry basket.

You serve peanut butter and jelly sandwiches at least once a day.

Popsicles become a food staple.

You buy cereal with marshmallows in it.

The closest you get to gourmet cooking is making Rice Krispies bars. You hope ketchup is a vegetable, since it's the only one your child will eat.

You count the sprinkles on each kid's cupcake to make sure they're equal.

You've mastered the art of placing large quantities of pancakes and eggs on a plate without anything touching.

Your favorite television show is a cartoon.

You weep through the scene in Dumbo when his mom is taken away, not to mention what Bambi does to you.

You're so desperate for adult conversation that you strike up a conversation with the telemarketer, and HE hangs up on YOU!

You're up each night until 10 p.m. vacuuming, dusting, wiping, washing, drying, loading, unloading, shopping, cooking, driving, flushing, ironing, sweeping, picking up, changing sheets, changing diapers, bathing, helping with homework, paying bills, budgeting, clipping coupons, folding clothes, putting the kids to bed, dragging the kids out of bed, brushing, chasing, buckling, feeding (them, not you) PLUS swinging, playing baseball, bike riding, pushing trucks, cuddling dolls, rollerblading, playing basketball, playing football, playing catch, blowing bubbles, running through sprinklers, sliding, taking nature walks, coloring, doing crafts, jumping rope PLUS raking, trimming, planting, edging, mowing, gardening, painting, and walking the dog.

You get up at 5:30 a.m., and you have no time to eat, sleep, drink, or go to the bathroom, and yet, you still managed to gain 10 pounds!

You are out for a nice romantic meal with your husband, enjoying some real adult conversation, when suddenly you realize that you've reached over and started to cut up his steak!

Florence Nightingale,12 (May 1820 – 1910) was an English social reformer statistician, and the founder of modern nursing.

Nightingale came to prominence while serving as a manager and trainer of nurses during the Crimean War, in which she organised care for wounded soldiers. Nightingale gave nursing a favourable reputation and became an icon of Victorian culture, especially in the persona of "The Lady with the Lamp" making rounds of wounded soldiers at night.

Recent commentators have asserted Nightingale's Crimean War achievements were exaggerated by media at the time, but critics agree on the importance of her later work in professionalising nursing roles for women.In 1860, Nightingale laid the foundation of professional nursing with the establishment of her nursing school St Thomas' Hospital London. It was the first secular nursing school in the world, and is now part of King's College London. In recognition of her pioneering work in nursing, the Nightingale Pledge by new nurses, and the Florence Nightingale Medal, the highest international distinction a nurse can achieve, were named in her honour, and the annual International Nurses Day celebrated on her birthday. Her social reforms included improving healthcare for all sections of British society, advocating better hunger relief in India, helping to abolish prostitution laws were harsh for women, and expanding the acceptable forms of female participation in the work force.

Nightingale was a prodigious and versatile writer. In her lifetime, much of her published work was concerned with spreading medical knowledge. Some of her tracts were written in simple English that they could easily be understood by those with poor literary skills. She was also a pioneer in data visualization the use of infographics, effectively using graphical presentations of statistical data.

Mozart's First Opera Day– May 13

On this day in 1767, Wolfgang Mozart's first opera, "," premiered in Salzburg. He wrote the opera at the tender age of 11.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was born into a world filled with music on January 27, 1756 in the town of Salzburg, .His father, Leopold Mozart, was a professional musician and scholar who not only taught his children music, but assumed responsibility for all of their education.

Leopold Mozart began giving music lessons to Mozart's sister Nannerl when she was seven. Wolfgang, who was barely three years old at the time, became very interested in the lessons. He would entertain himself for hours pressing the clavier (precursor of the piano) keys and delighting in the sounds they produced. Leopold was soon also giving Wolfgang music lessons.

By the age of four, the boy could memorize little pieces and play them perfectly. At five years of age, he could compose short pieces. His ear was already so keen that he was able to tell his elders if their were a quarter tone out of tune.

Leopold Mozart saw the talents of his children as a way to gain fame and fortune for the family. At the age of six, Wolfgang set out with his family on a musical tour of Europe. Wolfgang and Nannerl became known as the"Wonder Children"and were in great demand, amazing and entertaining all the courts of Europe.

Even at a young age, Wolfgang was very charming. While in Vienna at the home of Empress Maria Theresa, he slipped and fell upon a polished floor. Maria Antoinette, who would later become the Queen of France, came to his rescue. Wolfgang was so delighted that he pronounced,"Oh, how pretty you are! When I grow up, I will marry you."

As the novelty of the performing children declined, Leopold Mozart was forced to discontinue the tours. The many years of travel over unpaved roads in horse-drawn carriages had taken their toll on Wolfgang's health. A severe case of smallpox nearly killed him and forever affected his health In later years, Mozart only traveled when he was forced to because his finances were low- -which occurred more often than he wished. Mozart began to compose at an early age. His first opera, , was produced when he was only twelve years old. Another opera followed a year later: .

Even though the public regarded Mozart as a successful composer, he had not yet found a secure job. Eventually, he received employment in the court of Archbishop Hieronymous of Salzburg. The ten years in this position proved to be very unhappy for Mozart. He was subject to the whims of the Archbishop who treated him harshly, but for whom he was expected to perform radiantly at private concerts.

Mozart's social position, like that of most musicians of the period, was very low. He was forced to live in the royal household and dine with the servants. Finally unable to tolerate the mistreatment, Mozart lost his temper and flew into a rage.He ended up without a job. Although Mozart gained his freedom, the powerful Archbishop was now his enemy.

Mozart always felt frustrated by the lack of appreciation for his talents as well as continually being underpaid. When he did have money, however, he lived recklessly, and never saved for times of need. He longed for a position which would offer him financial security and allow him to compose as he wished.

Composing music was the only thing that set him free from his worries.It was as natural and as much of a necessity to him as eating and sleeping. He could work and rehearse all day and night.� His barber later related a story of the difficulty of trying to dress Mozart's hair because he could never sit still.The moment an idea would occur to him, he would dash to the clavier with the barber, hair ribbon in hand, running behind him.During Mozart's brief life, he produced an astonishing legacy of beautiful music: over 600 different compositions in a wide variety of musical forms.

After his departure from the service of the Archbishop, Mozart was able to have some of his music published.He also began teaching students privately.This gave him the financial security he felt he needed to ask for Constanze Weber's hand in marriage.

Mozart's decision to marry Constanze horrified Leopold Mozart who opposed the union because he felt her to be"beneath his son." Mozart dearly loved his father and was very dependent upon him; he constantly sought his advice.It has been said that Leopold Mozart rarely let his son make his own decisions. Much against his nature, Mozart disobeyed his father and married Constanze in 1782. They had six children, but only two boys survived.

In the years immediately following their marriage, Mozart was happy and experienced some professional success.He met and developed a relationship with Austrian composer (1732-1809) whose music had inspired Mozart as a young boy.The friendship they shared was based on admiration and mutual respect and led to the enrichment of each man's music.

The success of his operas,(1786) and , gave Mozart great satisfaction. Don Giovanni premiered on October 29, 1787 in Prague where it triumphed, despite a very rushed schedule.According to one story, no overture had been written in time for the final dress rehearsal.Mozart planned to work all night, but sleep overcame him.He awoke with half of the overture still to be written.Within two hours he completed it, fully orchestrated, and delivered it to the copyists.It took longer for the manuscript to be transcribed for the members than it had taken Mozart to write it. The musicians received their parts--with the ink on the paper still wet --as the audience filled the opera house behind them.

The year of 1787 also marked the death of Mozart's beloved father Despair filled his world. He was once more deeply in debt and frequently ill, yet drove himself to fulfill his obligations. He began another series of tours in 1789 to try to earn a living.Upon returning home, , a theatrical manager and actor, approached Mozart with a libretto he had written for a magical opera based on an oriental fairy tale. Although Mozart was very ill, he feverishly began writing an opera. Mozart completed September 29, 1791 and it premiered in Vienna the very next day.

Mozart was unfortunately unable to enjoy the success of his new opera. He collapsed from exhaustion after the premiere and his illness grew more serious. During his final days, he was visited by a stranger who commissioned him to compose a Mass.In his deteriorating state, Mozart believed that the stranger was a messenger from heaven who came to give notice of his approaching end and that the Requiem was for himself. The mysterious visitor was actually sent by Count Walsegg whose wife had just passed away. A musician of little skill and even less merit, the Count intended to claim the work as his own to impress his friends. Mozart died on December 5, 1791 before he could complete the Requiem. This genius, so rich in talent, died a poor man at only thirty-five years of age. En route to his final resting place, a storm arose and all of his friends retreated. Only his faithful dog watched his master disappear into an unmarked pauper's grave.

May 14 First Public Performance of "Stars and Stripes Forever"–

John Philip Sousa played his famous march "Stars and Stripes Forever" for the first time publicly on this day in 1897. The first public performance of the famous march was in celebration of the unveiling of a George Washington statue in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

All of his life, John Philip Sousa loved music and loved America, so it's no surprise that he wrote this patriotic classic. Sousa grew up in Washington, D.C., during the Civil War. As a kid, he enjoyed hearing the Civil War military bands that filled the streets of Washington as well as the sounds of his father's trombone. His father played in the U.S. Marine Band and Sousa quickly followed in his footsteps. Sousa first enlisted in the Marine Band as an apprentice violinist and later became the bandleader. When Sousa wasn't playing with a band, he was writing music, like "The Stars and Stripes Forever." By the 1890s he had written enough popular marches to be nicknamed the "March King." Sousa had natural talents that helped him when he was writing music. He could imagine what a song would sound like just by reading the musical score. Many musicians and composers need a piano to help them hear a song, but Sousa could hear it in his head. He called it his "brain-band." He also had what is called perfect pitch, because he could recognize any note played. And Sousa was hard-working and focused. He would write music almost anywhere: on a train, between band rehearsals, or in a hotel room. Sousa believed that in order to write inspiring music--music that would "make goose pimples chase each other up and down your spine"--he had to be inspired when he wrote it. Some of his inspiration came from a "higher power" and some of it came from his imagination. When composing a march, Sousa would often "turn my imagination loose among scenes of barbaric splendor. I picture to myself the glitter of guns and swords, the tread of feet to the drum beat, and all that is grand and glorious in military scenes." Sousa also found inspiration in everyday life. The inspiration for "The Stars and Stripes Forever" came while Sousa was traveling home to the United States. Sousa and his wife were enjoying a European vacation in 1896, when they saw a startling newspaper article. Sousa's band manager, David Blakely, had died a few days earlier. Soon Sousa and his wife were on a ship heading home to New York. On the journey home, Sousa started hearing "the rhythmic beat of a band playing within my brain. It kept on ceaselessly, playing, playing, playing. Throughout the whole tense voyage, that imaginary band continued to unfold the same themes, echoing and re- echoing the most distinct melody." When he got home he wrote down the music for what would become "The Stars and Stripes Forever." Sousa said the song was about the feeling of coming home to America and how "in a foreign country the sight of the Stars and Stripes seems the most glorious in the world." "The Stars and Stripes Forever" was an immediate hit. From 1897 until the band stopped touring, whenever they performed, the audience would expect to hear "The Stars and Stripes Forever." When it was played, the audience would stand up as though it were the national anthem. At first it was not unusual for the band to play it two or three times in a performance, each time receiving louder applause than before. Sousa played it for the last time on the day he died, March 6, 1932.

May 15 Happy Birthday, L. Frank Baum– Children's author Lyman Frank Baum born in Chittenango, New York, on this day in 1856. He is most famous forThe Wonderful Wizard of Oz.

Fun Trivia about the movie: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0032138/trivia .