Happy Being Green

I love that feeling when you're just so happy that it feels almost like a volcano of happy bubbles is building and about to erupt.  And yes, that's actually what it feels like.

I'm having a happy bubble day today!

It's St. Patrick's Day which is a good start.  I'm proudly sporting my green shirt and everyone I pass in the halls today is in green.  It's fabulous and we're all grinning like a bunch of idiots in on a strange little joke.

I started teaching a new class at work today and everyone who signed up for the class is one of those naturally happy people. I mean REALLY happy.  When they play a board game they get just as excited whether they roll a 1 or a 6.  They're just as happy if they get the answer right or wrong and they don't care if they go to jail or get out of jail free.  They're just happy to be with other people and to be sharing a fun moment.  They cheer everyone on, laugh when they get the answer wrong and shout with joy no matter what the dice say.  Put a group like that together for an hour and we were a complete giddy mess by the end. 

So, to recap, everyone is in green today and I'm riding a high from my new class this morning. 

Might as well call my little Irish Nana to wish her Happy St. Patrick's Day.  She answered the phone in her irish lilt and, well, she had me at hello.  We chatted about the sunshine and the weather and then the phone call ended with her warning me not to drink too much whiskey today...at least until I got off work!  Oh Nana, you're so cute!

Afterwards, I read Dave Hingsburger's blog entry and it sent me over the edge, straight into my happiness volcano.  Dave writes a daily blog about disabilities and he's always thought-provoking.  Today's entry about St. Patrick's Day, inclusion and disabilities was wonderful and is very much worth the read.

With still half of my waking hours left ahead of me, a run in the sunshine and corn beef for dinner, this day shows no signs of slowing down.

So I'm taking a moment to be thankful for my partner, my family and my friends who fill my life with such riches.  And raising a glass to my Grandpa who is looking down on us today with a wee leprechaun on his shoulder and an amber glass of whiskey in his hand. 

Sláinte!

Sláinte!

The luck of the Irish is a phrase that will be often repeated this week.  St. Patrick's Day is tomorrow and with it comes green beer, shamrocks, leprechauns and all sorts of Irish sayings that seem to get funnier with each passing year.

At least to me.

I come from good strong Irish stock.  My mother was born in Ireland.  Her father, my grandfather Seamus, came over to Canada looking for work.  Once he was settled in Toronto, he sent for my grandmother Maggie and their three children.  They boarded the ship, waved goodbye to their beloved green island and sailed off to Canada, landing at Pier 21 and making their way to Toronto.  My mother was eight - red hair, blue eyes and freckles. 

I like to think that luck crosses oceans because our family seems to have their fair share of it, despite being so far from the Emerald Isle.  As my sister once put so beautifully: we all have horseshoes up our @$$#$! Never for big things like lottery winnings but we just seem to be a little bit luckier than others. 

Lucky enough that I have learned to rely on it when I make decisions.  If I'm not sure about something, I'll weigh all the factors but also be confident that I can count on a wee sprinkling of faerie dust to tip things in my favour.

Since it's such a big part of my life, I think a lot about luck and what it really means.  There's the luck that happens at slot machines and black jack tables.  I don't have that kind (which is probably a good thing).  I have the kind where I go for a run and find a $20 bill lying on the ground in the middle of nowhere.  I'm the person who randomly walks into a store the one day a year that the item I'm looking for is 80% off.  The occasional week that I chose to do my long run on my own, it will almost invariably be lovely weather and the next morning, when the rest of the runners head out, it will be pouring rain.

Sometimes I think that it might be more about attitude and observation skills than about real leprechaun magic.  Maybe ten people walked by the $20 bill before I did and I just paid more attention and found it.  Maybe I think I get lovely weather when I run because I don't mind wind, rain and cold. Maybe things always work out because I have a naturally positive outlook on life so endings, even bad ones, don't really seem so bad. 

Or maybe I have a one of the wee folk looking out for me, tasked with the job of keeping me safe, healthy and happy.

I take great comfort in either option. 

And tomorrow, this little Irish lass will raise a glass to the green hills, soaring cliffs and hidden glens of the country that still calls to her from across the sea.

Sláinte!