Life with the Toddler: Our Subtle St. Patrick’s Day Celebration

Generally we are all about celebrating a holiday. This past Saturday though, on St. Patrick’s Day our support was slightly more subtle. Andre went off in the AM to teach karate and the baby and I were left to fend for ourselves. When Andre left, he reminded me about the St. Patrick’s Day parade. St. Patrick’s Day is a big deal in Pittsburgh. Since we live near downtown he thought that we might want to walk down and enjoy the festivities.

He was right.

However, we ultimately missed the parade because in Chaton’s World the schedule rules. The Saturday schedule usually involves errands, housework, cuddling time with the baby on the sofa, and a bit of writing. Since the parade was not on my “Things to Do” list from the night before, I had not mentally prepared for rushing out of the house to make the parade. Also, we were going out to dinner with friends who were meeting us at our place beforehand. So, there was a little more cleaning to do.

My heart was at the parade, but my body was scrubbing the toilet! Eventually, the baby and I managed to leave the house. I was quite pleased with myself. We left the house before noon. She was in good spirits and wearing a cute outfit, a pink Calvin Klein warm up suit. I was in a comfortable outfit of black leggings, a tight tank top and a large white shirt with black sneakers. I had even accessorized with a long chain necklace.

On our way downtown we ran into one of my colleagues who had attended the parade with her family. After making a bit of small talk she commented about our lack of green clothes.

RATS!!!

Despite our cuteness, I had made a mommy faux pas. I had failed to pay adequate homage to the holiday. Everybody knows that green and St. Patrick’s Day go hand-in-hand. Even Andre knows that, which is why he bought the tot Shamrock sunglasses and a green bow tie the week before.

This is just another example of how preparation alone is not enough. You have to execute!

That being said, I wanted to tell my colleague that our presence downtown, before noon, on a Saturday, without Andre’s help in the AM, was a feat to be commended. Asking for us to be dressed in festive attire too was a little too much to ask!