Parade Day, My New Website and Whatever Else I Think Of

St. Paddy's Parade Day was a lot of fun on Sunday. Our city holds a St. Patrick's Day parade every year on the Sunday before March 17th. It's a grand tradition that was always sold as a great day for the family. Of course that's not how I was originally introduced to the holiday.

It used to be that my husband and his friends (along with girlfriends/boyfriends/spouses as they became a part of "the group") would all meet up at someone's home and, usually Shannon, would cook everyone breakfast (and I don't just mean coffee and donuts; I mean green pancakes, sausage, bacon, eggs - you name it!). So everyone would eat up and start drinking up around 9 a.m.

Once everyone was feeling all warm and fuzzy inside we would all gather in one room (I remember the basement one year) and someone would make a toast. Now this was no ordinary toast. This was a toast that was thought about, and often written down, in advance. It was something to bring a tear to your eye, except that we were all getting drunk so we usually just giggled a lot.

Then it was time to call the taxies and make our way out to the bars. Now the bars are along the parade route so I usually got to see, oh I don't know, all of 15 seconds of the parade. Which was fine by me at that time in my life when I all I wanted to do was follow everyone else into the bar and continue to get hammered all before 1:00 p.m.

So we drank. And we drank. And we drank some more. Finally it would get to the point where many of us had been separated; several were stumbling down the sidewalk trying to find another bar to let them in; and I would get just plain tired. So my husband and I would wander back home and take a much needed late afternoon nap. (It's a very strange feeling to be hungover from drinking when the sun hasn't even set yet)

Well, that's the way it used to be. But over the last few years things have changed dramatically. Our usual hosts have moved away from the city, but others have picked up the gauntlet to host breakfast. Still others have moved away and don't always make it back for the parade. And then there's the most dramatic change of all - we're all getting old and many of us have children now. So instead of drinking our faces off on Parade Day, well, we actually went to the parade on Sunday, with our children, and we actually saw all two hours of it.

And it was so much fun!! The sun was shining. It was in the 50's. My boys loved it, although my younger son didn't like the "loud noises" of the bands when they would play right in front of us. And, well, we saw plenty of people drinking their "coffee" and "Coke" and having a great, but in moderation, time ;)

Isn't it nice to know that while everything changes, traditions will survive in some form or another.

On a completely different note, I wanted to (finally) introduce everyone to my new website. It's a BIG step up from my last attempt and I'd love to know what you guys think. I've started a weekly journal of sorts over there, too. I've taken quotes (I LOVE quotes!) that I come across or that strike me in some particular way and I write a thought or two about what I think it says. But I'm trying to use it more as a meditation; something to give people to think over in their own lives and interactions with the world. I don't know. We'll see how it goes. But there are also all kinds of links to blogs I read, websites I like, books I'm reading - well, it's a lot of stuff about me!!! Me! Me! Me! (Isn't that what this technology is all about anyway? ;)

It's just my way of sharing my interests with others and really a way for me to have a central catalog for everything I like to do on the Internet. (I'm also a closet wannabe graphic designer, so once I started I just couldn't stop and I didn't know what else to do since I'm not selling anything!) I plan on adding to it over the coming weeks - maybe some writing samples, action campaigns, etc. - but it's ready for public viewing and I'd love for you to go check it out.

OK. This post has gotten entirely too long. See what happens when I don't type for three or four days? If you got all the way to the end - Thanks!!!

Oh, one more thing. I believe that Cheryl has touched down in NH and I should be getting a visit at some point tomorrow. It's been almost 10 years since we've seen each other and I can't wait!!! I'm giddy with excitement! And I get to show off my boys and my husband and I get to meet her adorable daughter and, well, sometimes life is just so sweet that it reminds us why we put up with all the other crap.