Staying Younger in RI: An Almost Unhappy St. Patricks Day

Last night I was kissing Molly goodnight and she whispered in my ear, "I can't wait until tomorrow morning because remember last year the Leprechaun came on St. Patrick's Day and left gold coins in our shoes?". "Ohhhh, I said, yes I NOW DO remember (now that it is 8:30pm on a Wednesday night-ugghhh), chocolate gold coins, right?". "Yes", she exclaimed.

So, I tucked her in tightly and quickly walked to my phone and dialed my mother. I recall her buying some chocolate gold coins around Christmas and I was hoping perhaps they did not get tucked into a stocking or put out for a snack for one of my children. She took some time to look around the house for them and called me back, "no chocolate coins to be found". I was not sure how I was going to pull this off and a trip to the store is not easy in our neck of the woods!

Thankfully, Shawn's field is sales and marketing and he often has little nick knacks and giveaways around the holidays. I decided to search his desk drawers and low and behold....I found a stash of St. Patty's Day goodies from 2010. Jackpot! I discovered some beaded green necklaces, some stickers and even a Shamrock pin for each of the three kids. I then searched my cupboards and I discovered some coconut M&M's that I had bought in Florida (our new favorite) that happen to be green, white and brown, and voooollllaaahhh, a perfect St. Patty's day treat from the Leprechaun!

It is amazing how fast two first graders can get dressed and downstairs in the morning when they "have a feeling" that a visitor came and left a treat while they were sleeping. Before I knew it Molly and Myles were dressed and downstairs and admiring their treats with excitement and little yelps of joy at 6:30am. Hudson was sound asleep still (which is so rare), but they were just in pure heaven. They did not understand how the Leprechaun did not leave glitter or footprints this year (wow- I was creative in years past--opps) but they were just thrilled with their treats. Hudson woke up before long and started fussing about getting dressed and getting ready for school, that is, until I told him about the night time visitor. His mood then did a complete 180 and he as ready to rock and roll and check out what was left by the little green man. We had a great morning together and everyone was so happy for the day and for their green outfits and for the treats left behind, despite the lack of glitter. It is so true how the little things in life can bring such joy!