As the world around me swirls with constant updates about coronavirus and my phone buzzes every minute with new cancellations, there is one bright spot on our family calendar that I am clinging to in rather desperate hope.
Our family's St. Patrick's Day countdown
The momentous occasion is marked by the scribbled scrawl of my 7-year-old son, who excitedly penciled it in, taking up all of the week’s slots in the process, but I don’t even care because it’s so sweet.
Around 8 years ago, I made the “mistake” of starting a leprechaun hunt for my daughters. It was nothing crazy, just a few clues for them to follow to find the “pot of gold” — which was actually just some Skittles and gold foil-wrapped Rolos stuck in a plastic sandwich bag — but man, the excitement in my house that morning was so fun.
It was something I wanted to to feel every year
Over the years, as more kids have joined the clan, the tradition has stuck around. I’ve kept it simple, just setting out some clues that the leprechaun hides around the house for a treasure hunt, along with the pot o’ gold surprise at the end (yup, still Skittles and Rolos in a bag).
Some years, I’ve had the energy to make my own scavenger hunt clues, and other years, I’ve printed out premade free St. Paddy’s scavenger hunts on Pinterest to make it even easier. Some years, I’ve gotten really fancy and slapped on some sparkly four-leaf clover stickers and others, it’s just green construction paper for you, thank you very much.
One year, I even went all out and added a disposable green tablecloth for breakfast and set out — gasps all around — Lucky Charms cereal as an extra-special surprise.
They were all hits
The point is, there’s nothing over-the-top about our St. Paddy’s day tradition, but it is a big deal to my kids. And that’s what matters — especially now, more than ever, in this time of fear and uncertainty and toilet paper hoarding.
Having a tradition like this to anchor ourselves — to know that even if my kids wake up and can’t go to school that morning, or we hear bad news about people getting sick around us, that they still have something to look forward to — makes all the difference to me as a mom.
St. Patrick's Day couldn't come at a better time this year
Honestly, it’s kind of getting me through right now, because despite not knowing what life is going to look like for the next few weeks — or even months — I can count on the fact that on March 17, I’m going to wake up to see my kids smile as they hunt down their very own pot of gold.
