An Atmosphere: St. Patrick's Day 2013

     Because I have been working full-time in the last year or two, I have been struggling to share and celebrate the liturgical year and the seasons with my family. My youngest two are eleven and fifteen (soon to be sixteen only four days after St. Patrick's feast day!) years old and I am so sad to miss so many opportunities to make memories with and for them. I want them to look back on these days and remember a couple of nice things I did for them...... and not just that their mom was not present or that she was always tired or chauffeuring someone or decluttering.....or hiding from overstimulation......

     When I found that I had St. Valentines Day off, I worked secretly to make the day special for them. I guess I never did get around to loading those pictures. Sigh. I put out the decor in early February, so that the seasonal celebration took place the whole month.  I should upload those pictures, even if they are late......

     When the month of March came, I knew I had to let go of the red hearts and the other decorations of February. I had come across a table linen from Ireland while digging out my Lenten home altar linens (only weeks into in Lent......another sigh) and built a table centerpiece around it. I am not sure where it came from. Did you bring it back for me, Willa? There is a matching apron. :)

The only solid color tablecloth I had was a red one. Still, it does not look Christmasy. Phew.

The little statue of Saint Patrick is also from Ireland. I brought it back from a trip to Ireland that I took in 1988 with my mom Amazing trip, in spite of being seven and a half months pregnant. Absoluetly the dream-come-true kind of travel journey. Visiting Ireland is one of the things Willa and I have in common.


      Below is our little bit of atmosphere (see Charlotte Mason) for the month of March.  Oh!  I need to put a Saint Joseph statue out as well!  Duh.  Simple. But it is making memories........

These lovely candle holders were given to me by my Irish (by blood--not a native--but he was an O'Connor!) grandfather in 1989 when I was visiting him and my grandmother.  He snuck them out to me as I was leaving and told me not to let my grandmother see them.

When I returned home, I placed them on a shelf above my sink in the kitchen.  Sure enough, when they came for a visit the following Thanksgiving, her searching eyes easily found them on that high shelf. 

She queried about how I had obtained them.  Oops.  Someone was in trouble.  ;)

They ARE green so I always think they are from Ireland.  But on the bottom, it says Denmark, and they are numbered.  Supposedly he brought them back for her from one of his travels abroad. He loved to travel. That love came straight down through my mother to me. 

Definitely does not come from my father's side fo the family.

And, I love my year-round Saint Patrick.  He sits on my hall book shelf and comes to the home altar for the month of March. He stands on a small block of Connemara marble.  Gosh, I soooo want to go back to the Emerald Isle.  Maybe Willa and I can go together when the kids are grown.  What say you, Willa?

I will be spending most of Saint Patrick's day away from home as I am required to attend with my youngest daughter an orientation day for her Rotary Youth Exchange.  Hopefully, I can con my husband into making some corned beef for dinner upon our return.  :)

Purple and Green blessings,

                               Chari