I ♥ Ireland

It's St. Patrick's Day weekend! That means I get to fully celebrate all my love for the country of Ireland and all things Irish. Bring on the green glitter, leprechaun hats, hard cider and brown bread! My "leprechauns" are pictured above... I took that shot a few years ago when I had bought those bowler hats for my kindergarten class at the time. I couldn't resist trying them on the pups for a test run!

For most, St. Patrick's Day is a great excuse to get drunk and party. For me, St. Patrick's Day is so beloved because it reminds me of my favorite places. It's the time of year where everyone loves Ireland and it suddenly seems slightly more appropriate to share my many photos of the most amazing place I have ever been. I get to share stories of the Aran Islands and the castles and old Irish ruins. I get to talk about all the adorable cows and sheep and chickens that just roam around the land. I can tell tales of Dublin and the Guinness Factory tour and how you get a free pint (which I truthfully only took one sip of since I don't really like beer) and how fun it is to learn to drive on the "wrong" side of road while touring the country. I can talk about my very favorite spot on the planet, the city of Galway, and how I could wander it's vendor lined streets and tiny hole-in-the-wall shops for days without being bored. I am able to ramble on about the breath-taking churches and the many, many stained glass windows in them all. I can tell stories of the overwhelmingly delicious coffee with the freshest milk you ever tasted and how I so terribly miss the honeycomb candy bars and the honeycomb ice cream. Oh, I could talk about Ireland and all things Irish for days. And the beauty of St. Patrick's Day is that everyone is more willing to let me do so. It's lovely.



Even though the actual date for St. Patrick's is not until Sunday, we celebrate at school with my K kiddos today. The "leprechauns" will come to my classroom this morning and leave behind a ridiculous green and gold glitter trail everywhere they go around my room. They will likely knock over chairs, turn up tables and mix things up all over the place. They sometimes leave the toilet water green and even left shamrocks and treats for the friends in my class. After all, those leprechauns are awfully tricky little creatures. Each child will get a bag that reads, "May these charms bring you the luck o' the Irish! Taste the rainbow and enjoy your pot o' gold!" Inside the bags are lucky charm cereal pieces, rainbow-colored nerd candies and some rolos. Sometimes, my job is pretty awesome.

Tonight, my school and blogger friend Tina from Like Ordinary Life is having a party at her house in honor of the holiday. I am really excited to go and I think it will be a great time. I'm bringing along some cider and I sure it will be a fun, low-key event. Tomorrow night I will celebrate with my very best friend in the world and her daughter, my goddaughter. We will be keeping things pretty tame there as well and will likely spend the evening talking about our upcoming trip to Ireland this summer. I am beyond excited. I have been twice before and it has been amazing. The place truly is the most beautiful, green, luscious landscape I have ever seen. From the sky, the ground looks like a green patchwork quilt with all the stone fences built up outlining the pastures. It's magical and mesmerizing. I cannot wait to go back. Everything is planned — the accommodations are booked and we are purchasing the plane tickets this weekend. Is it August yet? I'm ready to leave.



I can't wait to climb up old ruins and cross rope bridges that look like they are way too old to still function. I want to crawl up mountainsides, pet goats I meet in a field along the way to a hiking destination and smell the sickly sweet scent of peat burning in fire places. I want to feel mossy green grass bending and smooshing under my shoes and cherish cold mornings and evenings and warm afternoon temperatures of August in Ireland. I cannot wait to sit on an Irish beach near Galway and watch the blue, cold water rush around my toes again. I am dying to look upon Cliffs of Moher again and traipse around Giant's Causeway. I want to eat at street markets and enjoy the best vegetable soup with brown bread I have ever tasted in Donegal. I'll painstakingly pick out souvenirs for friends and family of things that remind me of Ireland but that will probably be lost on them because they have never been there themselves. If I could bottle the land and bring it home to them, I would. Or better yet, if I could convince all my loved ones to move there (because I would miss them terribly if I moved just by myself) tomorrow, I would. Ireland is like another world for me. It's homey and green and lovely and calming. It's an enchanting place that seems to welcome everyone for who they are and whatever it is they stand for. They ask a lot of questions and they truly want to know the answers. When an Irish person asks you how you are doing at the pub, they honestly want to know. "Good," is not the answer they are looking for — they want to buy you a pint and to make a new friend for the evening — no strings attached. It's not what us American's are used to but it's Ireland. And to me, it's absolutely wonderful.

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