Happy St. Paddy's Day!

Happy St. Paddy's Day!

What a difference a pandemic makes. Bob and I hung out together at home and shared a beer over dinner. We've become wild like that with all this social distancing and fear-mongering. I'm the monger in our house mostly these days.

"Bob, did you wash your hands? Wash them again, just in case."

"Bob, use hand sanitizer. Just pour the whole thing over your body. You've been outside."

"Bob, don't touch anybody when you go to work. And wear a mask. And call me every hour so I can listen to your breathing."

Ok, I'm not really that bad. Just a little bad. Maybe mostly that bad. This isolation from people might be making me nuttier than normal. But really, who can tell because nobody's around. 

Just a few years ago, St. Paddy's Day was spent with two of our girls. Rachel and Bel came out to Florida for a week and we went crazy! Live music, dinners out, DisneyWorld, Universal, it was a blast. We were stewing in germs and loved every minute of it.

Poor Bel. I tend to embarrass her, I think. And yet, she still likes me and keeps coming back for more. Thank goodness. I can't help it. It's in my DNA. 

And then there's Rachel. She's not only good with her crazy mother's embarrassing ways, she encourages them. So, it's not totally my fault. Ok, it actually is but I'm not even sorry.

Bob was just happy to have two of his girls and beer. He's pretty easy to please. 

Then three years ago, we were in Rhode Island with John and Amy and the gang. It was Irish Catholic mayhem of the third degree. You have not experienced a true St. Paddy's Day until you've spent one in Newport, Rhode Island. Those folks know a good time because they are the good time. 

John and his mother drank beer together that St. Paddy's Day. They drank a lot of beer together. So did the stalker behind them. There was also a lot of singing and dancing and crying when the bagpipes showed up. You're my laddie, John. I sure hope we get to do this again next year because drinking beer and crying without the bagpipes and you just isn't the same.

Look at these wonderful humans! Look at the one with his cellphone open to FaceBook on his lap. One of these days I am going to run that thing over with the tractor. The cell phone not the stalker. Although, don't try me because this isolated life has left me a bit on the cranky side.

So, tomorrow night, Bob is taking me out for a late birthday/St. Paddy's Day celebration. It's a few days after the fact but I don't care. I love being with him and going out on old people dates together. This is our first big outing in seven months. That is so crazy to think about and so different from our normal. We're going to see an ELO tribute band and I'm pretty excited about it. I'm also a bit on edge. I don't want to be stupid but I also don't want to be a prisoner in my home. It's a tough balancing act we are all practicing these days. My friend Marie sent me this outstanding gift a while back and I actually thought it might work for concert attire tomorrow night.

Yes, this is me chasing my grandkids through their house a few years ago. Yes, I think this could actually work for my concert tomorrow night. It's like a mask for your entire body. If Marie is reading this, I promise you, she is yelling at her laptop right now, "DO IT!!" Yes, she would do it with me and this explains our friendship.

Anyway, here's hoping tomorrow night is full of fun and frivolity. If it's a mistake, we'll make better mistakes next time.