Saint Patrick's Day

Most of my genealogy stems back to Ireland so I am fond of this day, but at 34 and a mother of 3.5 (three full time & privileged to have my step daughter every other weekend etc) the sentiment of this day has certainly morphed. I find myself thinking of my grandpa (paternal) Fred who was proud of being Irish, proud of his name Frederick, proud of his country - to be honest I think even as I write this I realize he was a great example of humble confidence. My St Patty's Day memories of him include oversized green ties, shamrocks and laughter; paper projects and sweet treats... Probably similar to your first holiday memories. It then morphs into a celebration of beer & how much the Irish like to drink it. Green beer, Irish brands, cheap beer - didn't really matter as long as it was beer! Haha lots of foggy memories with painful days-after. The next transformation revisits the paper projects and sweet treats with my twin daughters (now 16) with my dad playing the part of grandpa. We can always count on shamrock flecked socks from my mom for all of us to wear to school and work - never forgetting to wear green, of course! Four years ago my Husband and I took a walk, held hands and kissed for the first time in about 7 years (a story for another time) and were married 7 months later which adds romance to my St Patty's Day book of memories! Today, I made a memory with my baby boy. He's just turned two and is trying to communicate. He jabbers non-stop all day long in broken English barely getting his meaning across. This is a frustrating time in his life! Three times this week he asked for a specific show using his choo-choo word. I started with Thomas & he said no, then Dinosaur Train and he said no to that too! He wound up howling and red-faced because I didn't know what he was saying :( broke mama's heart! This morning he started requesting it again, I attempted the same solutions I'd tried before and he began to cry when his sis mentioned Blues Clues. The look of relief that passed across his sweet face was just precious! He was finally understood & his big sis was a hero! My St Patrick's Day celebrations will likely revisit paper crafts and sweet treats again with the baby but, now I'm warm with memories from my childhood, fun with my sweet girl's and a forever-blooming romance with the handsome man in an Ireland t-shirt reclaiming the heart that was always his.

Wishing you always walls for the wind,
A roof for the rain,
Tea beside the fire,
And the love and laughter of those you hold dear.
Happy Saint Patrick's Day!!


Thanks to http://www.celticcolours.com/blessingsandtoast.aspx for the Irish Blessing!