Luckiest Lass🍀

It’s almost here! St. Patrick’s Day is less than a week away and millions will be donning their green, wearing shamrock accessories and drinking green beer. I must say this lass is excited!

My family has a celtic heritage. My ancestors walked on the rolling green hills and spoke Gaelic and all that. So many of us share that, and even if we don’t, the day is celebrated as if it were so. I love how everyone is Irish on St. Paddy’s Day! We’re all like family! But that isn’t what gets me so excited!

You see, 10 years ago I took on the tradition of hosting our family’s St. Paddy’s Day Irish Feast. It is my favorite holiday! I spend time sending out the invites to family and our closest friends, then planning the menu and getting the head count, usually 20+, before overflowing a shopping cart. Because there IS quantity. Let me just say that when I call it a feast, I mean we put Thanksgiving to shame! And it is all traditional Irish dishes. Coddle and colcannon, cabbage and corned beef. Not to mention the fresh green beans and potatoes with rosemary and the roasted garlic lentils. I can keep going. It’s something to behold. Prep work the night before, decorating and filling up the cooler and then cooking all day… I absolutely love it!

I love it not just because of my heritage, but because it’s a set aside day I get to spend with all those I love most in this world. I get to show my love and appreciation to them all while preparing a meal! (I love cooking with and for people!) And I don’t have to share them throughout the day as is the case with other major holidays. It is a day we all reserve and look forward to. A day to enjoy the laughter and joy we bring to each other. A day of celebration for not only where we come from, but where we will go in this life together. It is a day I am always reminded just how lucky I really am. And I am damn lucky!🍀

So for all you ‘Irish’ out there celebrating this great day, I leave you with this blessing:

Lucky stars above you,

Sunshine on your way,

Many friends to love you,

Joy in work and play.

Laughter to outweigh each care,

In your heart a song,

And gladness waiting everywhere

All your whole life long!

Sláinte!🍻☘️