My mom did some wild green pranks in college with a friend of hers and they earned the names “Leprechaun number one and Leprechaun number two.” She decided to bestow the leprechaun honors on her children, so the way we celebrated St. Patrick’s day was epic, and with the green tricks we played on each other, was similar to April Fool’s Day.
Getting out of bed in the morning, a green bowl of toilet water would greet me, followed by green clothing and unsightly green eggs, pancakes, or waffles complete with a box of lucky charms for each of us. My sisters would pick out all the marshmallows, eat the cereal and then save the marshmallows to eat later. I would just eat the cereal and be sad later because I had no marshmallows.
I had to be sure and wear something green at school to avoid being pinched, punched, kissed, or who knows what else, and there is this fourth grade picture haunting me where all I had green was an ugly pair of sweats. I wore them with a black shirt, flats, and a shamrock made from a green pipe cleaner. Why didn’t they remind me it was picture day?
After racing home and strategically placing the green bowl of confetti over the doorway to show my mom how much I loved her, I would quickly color the toilet water, place extra green shamrock confetti in the beds for the rest of the family, and practice my look of innocence.
With dinner time came the familiar smells of cooking cabbage and corned beef, which my mom always stocked up on. My mom would eat the Reuben sandwich and I would turn my nose at the strange food, even though I would give in and eat some corned beef or some of my Lucky Charms with green milk.
Bedtime always greeted me with some form of green something underneath the sheets, and I could never figure out who put it there since I was always the first one home from school. With these fun memories, soon I too will be helping my son and daughter enjoy such o’ lovely green day.