Wearing O' the Green...

Happy St. Patrick's Day to you all dear friends!

I've always enjoyed this holiday.  Being an Irish lass I believe it's never a bad thing to enjoy your heritage and lets face it...who doesn't adore green beer?  Growing up I considered St Paddy's day a "button" holiday.  My Mother was a whiz at making every holiday seem special.  From her spectacular decor to making sure we all had cute little green buttons to wear to school on the 17th.  Mom adored themes.  Seems she wasn't the only one because of the plethora of products out there to adorn each holiday.  In recent years the amount of said items seem to have quadrupled in size.  One can hardly walk into a shop without seeing some festive display here and there.  Well, I embrace it!  We should celebrate every day and if that paper mache leprechaun hat garners some good will, I'm all for it.

Finding the joyous spirit in these little milestone days isn't as easy as it was a few months ago.  My family had a bionic Christmas this year.  We MADE it happen amidst the sea of doctors and hospital visits.  Mom rallied on Christmas and I count this last one among one of my favorites.  We were all together and every gift was so thoughtfully given it made the moments seem to last.  Maybe we all knew it would be our last together, I don't know.  I can honestly say that I didn't expect Mom to pass as quickly as she did. In many ways, I'm still in shock.  I actually picked up the phone to call her today.  I've heard of this happening but I never understood it until this morning.  It was a stupid cooking question, one of the many I always had for her. At any rate, reality sunk into my bones and I stared lost out the window for a few minutes until I realized it was the 17th and I must wear my claddaugh ring and don my favorite color...green.

So what if my green is tainted by a little blue this year.  I'm a woman from a long line of Irish souls whose grit and determination was always seasoned with an easy laugh and an open door.  I'm off to finish my cabbage and to celebrate with a green beer or two.  My Irish eyes are smiling even if my heart is a little empty this year.

Erin go bra-less dear friends!  Oh wait...that's a spring break "button"  :)

~Mel