Paint the Town Green

  Oh, feck yes.  Time to raise your Guinness and toast to...Guinness?  Up until now, I was under the impression that St. Patrick's Day was slapped onto the calendar for the sole purpose of drinking like an Irishman.  Sure, when I became a Mom I began to see how shamrock shaped sugar cookies and leprechaun tales could be reason enough to celebrate but wuddyaknow? There IS more to St. Patty's Day than corned beef & cabbage and yes...even green beer.

   In the spirit of the holiday, I have taken it upon myself to learn a little bit about what all the fuss is over.  So what about the patron saint and national apostle of Ireland? This "Saint Patrick" guy? Here's the condensed version of what I learned:

St. patrick was a Catholic missionary in Ireland during the 5th century.  At age 14, he was captured by

Irish raiders in Britain and taken to Ireland as a slave.  6 years later, he escaped and returned

to his family in Britain, where he entered the church.  He later returned to Ireland as an ordained Bishop. 

He has been credited with bringing Christianity to Ireland.

Want FACTS? That's really all there is.  Legends vary but there isn't much for actual documentation beyond that.

So why the green, the shamrock and the food/drink overindulgence?

In Ireland, the 3 leaf clover was used by ministers to teach the concept of the holy trinity. Enter Shamrock.

St. Patrick's Day is a religious holiday that happens to fall during lent and consequently, the only day during

the 40 day lent period where the people of Ireland are allowed to eat meat and drink.

Enter corned beef & cabbage and your Irish beverage of choice.

As for the green? We sorta just made it up.  Only the U.S. does it and green is actually considered

an unlucky color in Ireland.

   Normally I would ignore everything I just learned.  I would dress in green, send Eldon to his Grandparent's house, and challenge Nate to a kegstand.  But Nate's at work and my I.D. (which was not turned in after falling out of my pocket on the dance floor last weekend) is probably being used to get some underager into some trouble this weekend. 

Preparing an entire corned beef for just Eldon and I seems silly.  Partying is out, so looks like I'll be celebrating the "Mom" way, which is fine by me.  No hangover. No trouble.

Dear Youngin with my drivers license,

Better you than me. Good Luck.

Sincerely,

The real Jenelle

p.s. I am most likely related to the bouncer.

So here's our G-rated gameplan...

...OK, PG 'cause I'm throwin' some irish cream in my coffee.  Eldon is going to start his day off with lucky charms, which is a huge treat for him.  We are making the shamrock sugar cookies and going on a hunt for all things green. (Learning colors-Score!) If you have older kids, I suggest rearranging all of the furniture, coloring the milk green and telling them that leprechauns came! Don't forget to leave some "gold" behind.

I bought the book "Did I ever tell you how lucky you are?" by Dr. Seuss and plan on reading it to Eldon regardless of the fact that he won't understand the message that I wish I could drill into his head every day. He's luckier than most.

Kalispell parade is at 4pm, and we will be there.  Afterwards, we may also be stopping at one of these places that are serving corned beef & cabbage dinner specials:

Kalispell Eagles-5pm

The Backroom-Columbia Falls

Tamarack Brewing Co.-Lakeside

The Cottage Inn-Kila

Garden Bar & Grille-Bigfork

Once Eldon turns in for the night, I plan on fantasizing over The Boondock Saints. (One of my most favorite movies. ever.)

The "scenery" isn't bad either. :P

Sound boring to you? Yeah, I figured it would.  Check out the local fesitivites at these places. (Hint: Bars with anything Irish in the name usually feel the pressure to throw one hell of a St. Patty's Day party.)

Great Northern Bar- Whitefish

Casey's Irish Pub- Whitefish

The Boiler Room- Kalispell

Paddy's Touchdown Lounge- Kalispell

Fatt Boys- Kalispell

Craggy Range- Whitefish

Tamarack Brewing Co- Lakeside

Blue Moon- Columbia Falls

So dust off that old kilt! For the love of God, wear something underneath it! And please, don't play your bagpipes after my kid is in bed! Also, if you choose to "go green" and down some beers, call a cab. Here are some numbers for your convenience:

Kalispell Taxi & Glacier Taxi- 752-7433

Jim's Taxi- 890-8920

The Ride Guy- 250-7573

Top o' the mornin' to ya, Flathead! Happy St. Patrick's Day!