A very green tradition

Day 10 of 31 at TWT!

Our town's slogan is "Irish is an Attitude".  You can't help but feel Irish here, whether you are or not!  Of course, this really comes out at two times of year: St. Patrick's Day and the first weekend of August, when we have what I'm pretty sure is the biggest Irish Festival in the country.

As long as I can remember, I've bounced out of bed on the Saturday nearest St. Patrick's Day to put on every green piece of clothing I own.  "Green syrup, green syrup!" I chirp to myself (much to Husband's annoyance).  It's time for the Pancake Breakfast! (Ironically, this year, although St. Patrick's Day is ON a Saturday, we had it a week early because next Saturday will be the first day of Spring Break.)

Childhood memories on a plate!

Even in high school, when I had to get ready to march in the parade, my parents and I would go down early to the Pancake Breakfast (held at the middle school I attended) so I didn't have to miss my pancakes with green syrup! It's a beloved family tradition that I look forward to every year.  I'm pretty sure the only year I missed it was the year I was studying abroad in Spain.

After the breakfast, there's a parade that includes all the high school bands, Irish dance troupes, local kids' groups, drum & bagpipe corps, and Irish wolfhounds. Of course, there's also all the usual parade elements: fire trucks bellowing their giant horns, kids scrambling for candy, silly clowns, politicians in fancy cars, horses, and even some big helium balloons.

My mom says that I was first in the parade when I was two, as part of a little gymnastics club.  In elementary school, my girl scout troop spent several years in a row bundled up in our snowsuits to waddle down the street, giggling the whole way.  Through my four years of high school, I proudly marched with my band in the midst of swirling snowflakes, every year!

Today it was so sunny I got a little sunburnt as I sat on the sidewalk.  Now, I'm the spectator and I always spot several of my students in the parade!

But those green pancakes were just as delicious as they have been for the past twenty-some years.