St. Patrick’s Day

May the luck of the Irish be with us all dear God….

It has been a  beautiful  and calm day   We face timed with our precious grandbaby, my favorite leprechaun.   My hubby made his signature corned beef and cabbage. Of course I wore green, even if I wasn’t going anywhere… To know me is to know that I am the queen  of St Patrick’s Day celebrations.  For twenty years, I have held over the top parties in my class, and before that for my family and friend, and church community. today was totally different, but wonderful in its own way. Just being able to be together and be well was Irish blessing enough.

Writing this is making me think of St Patrick’s Day past.  I used to organize a party at church every year with extensive entertainment.  The entertainment involved our priest and his brother playing the fiddle, and Irish tin whistle and singing.   I remember recruiting a Salvadoran woman  who danced to a jig with a bottle on her head.   I also included a belly dancer from the restaurant down the block from the church who danced in green  to Irish music. It was always a multicultural Irish celebration and lots of fun.

 We also celebrated in my children’s classes at elementary  school.  Every child got hats, pins, beads, and green donuts.  I later put on parties like this for my own classes in middle school  When my children reached middle school, I moved on to the faculty providing lunch for everyone.  Before children, my husband  and I put on lavish Irish parties and Irish brunches  preceding the D.C. parade.  By Irish I mean most o fthe food was green.  The decorations were awesome. I usually had a fiddler playing live at the events.

Why did I go through this diatribe about past St. Patrick’s Day events?  Perhaps to bring home to you that if anyone loves St. Patrick’s Day, I do.  But, even I can see that this year, it is backdrop.  It cannot be the main show.  This was our second day working from home.  I started to hear from some of my students and the difficulties their families face.   I listen to the news, and suddenly nothing else matters..

I wonder how Ireland is dealing with this crisis and what about our friends in France, Germany, Albania, Pakistan, Greece, and  Morocco?  What about our friends and family here in the U.S?  What about my own family and yours?  So much uncertainty…. So much vulnerability…..I literally have two drawers of green clothes, but today there was only one themed  shirt I could wear.  It was given to me by Portuguese friends.  It says, “I can’t keep calm, I’m Irish”  That says it all.  But a cute dog does help…