Wog

 March 17, 2021

St. Patrick’s Day isn’t entirely about shamrocks and green beer. It’s also about leprechauns. When our children were little, daughter Jessie made leprechaun traps, hoping to catch one of the little people and get his pot of gold. She came close a few times, once managing to snag his britches and another time, his coat. Her brother Matt made it his St. Patrick’s Day mission to not only catch the leprechaun, but to do so in a way that would leave him squashed by a book or some other weight, causing no end of grief and anxiety to his little sister. The leprechaun had the last laugh however, painting his toes green just before swimming championships. 

Jessie’s daughter Gemma is following in her mother’s footprints, building elaborate leprechaun traps, with the same level of success, but without the interference of her older brother. If she thought about it for awhile however, she might realize she already has a leprechaun in her older sister who was born this day fifteen years ago. In fact, Eliza probably doesn’t qualify as the little people type, but to us, she remains the leprechaun’s pot of gold, enriching us for these past fifteen years with her beauty, creativity, and character. A literal pot of gold pales in comparison to the treasure we have in her, for which we continually give thanks.