SOLC 17

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Michaela and her Uncle Mike St. Patrick's Day Parade.

Today is St. Patrick's Day. It is a day of big celebrating for our family. Honestly, we have been celebrating all month. We begin March with decorating. The green shamrock tablecloths, dishtowels, wash cloths, placemats, table runners all come out. The shamrocks, leprechauns and any other Irish related items are put up once Valentine's Day is over. The bag pipe music begins playing. We are infused with the joy of St. Patrick's Day. We completely enjoy this holiday. It is enjoyed just as much as Christmas in our house. Both of my parents are 100% Irish. They are proud of their heritage and passed this pride to their children. My mom is named after a river in Ireland. The adair River. This river was one her dad fished at when he was a child. Our names were all carefully selected to reflect our Irish heritage. I come from a large Irish-catholic family. My mom is the oldest of ten children. I am the oldest of 58 grand-children. My own children are completely fascinated by how many cousins, aunts, and uncles they have. It can get very confusing. It is equally confusing because we reflect our Irish heritage in our name selection. We tend to use the same names over and over. We have many Uncle Peters, Uncle Kevin's and aunt Kathleen's. It is so hard to keep it straight. However, odds are good, when in fact if you forget, call them Peter or Kevin. Today my daughter said to me that she loves her name. However, she is most grateful that I didn't name her Kathleen like so many of her relatives. I just laughed! She is the only one so far in our family. I didn't go with the norm. I didn't name her Kathleen or Kate. She is Michaela. It is an Irish name. However, she is the first Michaela in our family. Her name is spelled differently than most Michaela's as well. My brother Michael is her godfather and I wanted it to reflect his connection to her. My brother is adopted from Korea. His connection to his Korean heritage is sketchy at best. I have always felt that his new heritage began on March 1st. when he joined our family. However, I am always looking for ways to let him know how important he is to us too. Connecting my daughter's name to his was my way of letting him know how loved he is, how his joining our family made our lives complete. My daughter loves her godfather very much. He treats her like she is his own daughter. He is such a wonderful Uncle, brother and friend. Our lives are so blessed on this St. Patrick's Day and on all the other day's too!
Hugs,
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