I woke up this morning to my alarm blasting Galway Girl at 8:30 AM.
This is a wonderful way to wake up on St. Pat's day.
I lazily turned my alarm off and went back to bed for another hour and a half, because I felt that if I was truly going to celebrate Ireland today, I might as well start it off by doing whatever I darn-well wanted too, and at that moment all I wanted to do was go back to sleep.
Bonny morning, indeed.
After waking up a second time, I spent the remainder of my morning meditating on Irish poems. As a beautiful Christmas present, Beks bought me a *slightly-used* first edition (from 1908, people) book of Irish Countryside Poems, Songs and Ballads by Alfred Perceval Graves.
I'll leave it to your imagination skills to bet on how excited I was upon opening that dear Christmas present....
Anyways. I came across a few gems, especially of note one titled "The Exiles", and another known as "Come, Sit Down Beside Me". Pretty much, Irish poetry is so beautiful. I'd like to expand my collection of it.
After that, I spent a leisurely hour 'watching' QVC's St. Patty's Day Celebration as Celtic Thunder were due to perform live, and was almost brainwashed into buying one of those hideous Aran sweaters that they advertise so blatantly well. You know, as I was watching, thinking all along "That is so unbelievably ugly" and alternately, "Oh my gosh, I really want one", the lady who was marketing them said that something like 6,000 of them had sold in the past 12 hours. 6,000. And that was only that particular style. They must have had about 27 different styles of Merina wool Aran sweaters, all selling roughly the same numbers.
I wonder if those QVC presenters get paid on commission....... Sign me up, if they do, please! I can pretend to like ugly sweaters and even uglier jewelry if it means I get a percentage of every single ugly sweater and ugly jewelry item I sell!!!!! Especially if I'm selling 6,000 of each in one single day.
... I didn't mean for this to turn into a marketing rant, I digress.
Anyways. So I got to watch "the boys" perform some of their new songs live on tv, which really, now that I think about it, was kind of pointless because I've already seen them live in concert singing the exact same songs. Only it was still cool. Because I am just that big of a dork and get that excited about something as cheesy as Celtic Thunder. ;)
(I am planning on going to see them again in concert this fall, by the way. Thought you oughtta be in on every part of my slowly increasing digression into insanity and lifelong loneliness...)
The rest of the day I sort of tinkered around, baking Irish Cream Cake and listening to classic folk pub songs and daydreaming of future St. Patty's Days spent in Ireland with real Irish people and Guinness on draft, instead of from a can.... I also spent an absurd amount of time getting ready for work tonight, donning some particularly heart-stealing shamrock spattered-tights, and making-up my eyes with four different shades of glittery green eyeshadow. It was a lot of fun getting dressed up for the holiday, seeing as I actually had somewhere to go this year.
And work really was amazing. Everyone's in a good mood on St. Patty's Day, you know? Everyone is just happy. This is because Irish people are just happy, and being able to celebrate all that St. Patrick did for Christianity is happy too. Even though nobody really celebrates that anymore, they just all go out and get drunk. To each his own.
Patty had Irish music playing when I got there, and everybody had a little bit of green something on, they stocked up on Guinness for tonight only, and everyone who came in ordered some. The kitchen smelled like Corned Beef instead of pizza (tonight's St. Paddie's special), and all the customers were flooded in different shades of green clothing.
A soft, soothing rain started to fall outside, and when I looked out the window down the street, it looked just like a cozy, wet street in the middle of Donegal.
"Happy St. Patrick's Day!"s were being tossed around lovingly, and everybody was in such a beautiful mood.
It felt like home. It felt like Ireland. And that truly put me in the best mood of all.
So really, in the last few moments of this glorious St. Patty's Day, I've just been reflecting on the gift of this beautiful country and beautiful culture that God has given to our world, and the influence it's had on my life.
To be Irish is to have lifelong friendship, love and loyalty, and if you have all of those things, you don't need a lot of money or a lot of non-starchy foods.
St. Patty's has always seemed like such a familial holiday, and I think that's why I love it so much. It's like Thanksgiving, where you celebrate all that you have to be thankful for, only instead, you're just celebrating the fact that you're alive and that you're surrounded by people you love. Which is cause enough to throw back a few Guinnesses anyday, but while we're at it, let's also remember the amazing sacrifices and bounding leaps made by one of history's greatest Saints, and wear some green for good luck.
Win-win situation all around, in my opinion!
I hope you've all had a wonderful St. Patrick's Day so far, and may you continue to have a safe night ahead, wherever you are.
Xoxo
My loves,
My doves,
My Irish eggs.
"Christ be with me, Christ within me,
Christ behind me, Christ before me,
Christ beside me, Christ to win me,
Christ to comfort and restore me.
Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ in quiet, Christ in danger,
Christ in hearts of all that love me,
Christ in mouth of friend and stranger.
I bind unto myself the Name
The strong Name of the Trinity,
By invocation of the same,
The Three in One and One in Three.
By whom all nature hath creation,
Eternal Father, Spirit, Word:
Praise to the Lord of my salvation,
Salvation is of Christ the Lord."
- Taken from St. Patrick's Breastplate
"O! If for ev'ry tender tear
That from our aching exiled eyes
Has fallen for you, Erin dear,
Our own loved Shamrocks could arise,
They'd weave and weave a garland green,
To stretch the cruel ocean through,
All, all the weary way between
Our yearning Irish hearts and you.
And oh! If ev'ry patriot prayer,
Put forth for your sad sake to God,
Could in one cloud of incense rare
Be lifted o'er your lovely sod,
That cloud would curtain all the skies
That far and near your fairness cope,
Until upon its arch of sighs
There beamed Heav'ns rainbow smile of hope."
-The Exiles, Alfred P. Graves
Health and long life to you,
Land without rent to you,
A child every year to you,
And if you can't go to Heaven, may you at least die in Ireland.
-Irish toast.
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