Today is St. Patrick's Day...but most people aren't thinking about that fact. Not that I'm blaming them...but I'm choosing to remember and celebrate anything other than the chaos that's happening right now.
Green is my favorite color, but strangely enough, I only have a few green shirts. The one I chose to wear today is from my teenage years. Thankfully, it was much too big for me then, which is the only reason I can fit into it twenty years later. The shirt reads "McFerran's Irish Dancers" and features Irish dance shoes in the middle of a celtic knot design. I bought this shirt when I was one of Sheila McFerran's Irish dance students back in 1999/2000. Sheila was from Dublin, Ireland and had somehow landed in Madison, Alabama. I took Irish step dance lessons from several individuals during those years, but all of them were Sheila's students or herself.
Somehow the shirt survived, even though my Irish step dancing days have long since passed. Even though I'm stuck at home, I wear it today to honor both St. Patrick and Shelia McFerran--along with my Irish heritage.
Our ancestors (no matter where they came from) endured terrible hardships throughout the ages--whether it was plague, war, famine, or religious persecution. In spite of their hardships, they survived--and we are testaments of that survival. We too shall overcome this present hardship, giving our descendants hope for their own future when troubles come.
Happy St. Patrick's Day, Y'all!
