WEARIN' O' THE GREEN, LEPRECHAUNS & ANNIVERSARIES

Tomorrow is St. Patrick's Day, a time when much of the western world pauses to remember the Patron Saint of Ireland, whose purported feats and accomplishments have become the stuff of legend. It has widely been accepted that - among many other things - St. Patrick drove the snakes out of Ireland. Ah, a lovely and indeed saintly feat that would have been, were it not for the wee little fact that Ireland, "dinna hoof no sneks to begin wit', laddie!"

It's also a day when we feel obligated to sport 'a wee bit o' the green', in our adornment so as not to invoke the 'tweakin' oof ar bodeily pahrts by complete strangers'. You remember of course, this rich tradition from grade school. . and no, green eyes - even if they be smilin' and Irish - dinna count.

There are assorted and sundry traditions to celebrate Celtic lore around the land that run the gamut from drinking green beer, to kissing the Blarney stone and eating corned beef and cabbage.

Let me briefly share a fun tradition that started when Tyler, Casey and Cheniel were just 'wee little shavers'. For a couple of weeks leading up to St. Patrick's Day we told the kids to keep an eye out for the leprechauns. These leprechauns were crafty and sneaky little guys who did their best to stay hidden during most of the day. Sometimes you could see them if you peered closely into and around the bushes and shrubs next to the house, but more often than not, all you would find would be their footprints and an occassional piece of green fabric that had torn off of their clothing. Of course, these scraps of clothing and the footprints were covertly and strategically placed by we, the parents. Yeah, we actually got our kids to believe in and look for real leprechauns and 'leprechaun sign'. So, sue me. We even took it a step further and told the kids that if they believed in leprechauns, the leprechauns would come visit them the night before St. Patrick's Day. If they had been good kids and fully believed in the leprechauns, there would be an abundance of candies and gifts strewn about the house. If they didn't really believe in the leprechauns - no goodies and they could expect some tricks to be played upon them by the little men in green.

Sure enough, on St. Patrick's Day when the kids arose they found Hershey's Kisses, Skittles (all the colors of a leprechaun rainbow, ya know?), sweet tarts, tootsie rolls, tootsie pop suckers and all manner of sweet confections strewn across the floors, in their beds, inside their pillow cases and in their shoes. It was great! Of course, the leprechauns managed to play a few tricks each year, no matter how good the kids had been. . .bananas in the microwave, chairs upside down on the kitchen floor, cereal in the refrigerator, shoes in the dryer, clothes turned inside-out on the hangers, school books in the dishwasher and pants hanging from the ceiling fan. Sometimes when they woke up they found themselves upside down in the beds or lying on a sleeping bag on the floor. That had to seriously mess with their heads!
I still remember Tyler coming home from school and telling us that the leprechauns didn't visit any of his friends or bring them treats. We explained to him - with deadpan, straight faces mind you - that his friends didn't get any treats because they probably didn't believe in leprechauns. I still cringe just a little bit when I think of Ty, Casey and Cheniel telling their school friends to watch for and believe in leprechauns in the days leading up to St. Patrick's Day. Their friends must have thought they were nuts. . .especially when they told them that the 'Leprechauns' had come and left goodies and played tricks on them. Cheniel, especially, got into it. So much so that she swears she saw the little dudes peeking in the windows and running down the stairway. It was a great time. A time that I often chuckle about to this day. Good times, great memories, gullible children.

Tomorrow there will be no Skittles scattered on the carpet in our home, no bananas in the microwave. There won't even be any Hershey's Kisses around the house. . .just real ones . . .as Lynne and I celebrate our anniversary. I kinda hope she forgets to wear something green. Heh, heh, heh.