On a day when we’re all accepted as Irish simply by wearing green, it really drives home how amazing being Irish really is.
The Irish have a bit of a reputation in this world. We’re known for great passions, and not all of them are especially virtuous! Perhaps it’s that devilish glint in our eyes though, that make the Irish so lovable.
I have been thinking about joining Ancestry dot com (this is not a sponsored post, so you can keep reading, haha) and putting some really solid research into my roots. My father’s father passed away before I could get too much of our rich history put down on paper. I know that my great grandfather, Andrew McCormick, was one of 3 brothers who left their draft horse rearing kin in County Cork before the turn of last century, and came to settle in Canada. When they left Ireland, the brothers separated and never saw each other again (I think), with the other 2 going to the US to settle.
Not much is known about those early years, as my grandfather was not the best historian, but I understand I had a great grandmother by the name of Elizabeth Carleton who ran a boarding house for single women (no, not a brothel!) out west, and was a crack shot with a rifle. In fact, one story handed down through the generations was of a time when a door to door salesman began getting fresh with one of her young tenants, and she came in from the back garden at a run, grabbed her gun without slowing down, and chased the man off the property – shooting out one of his boot heels in the process. I have to say, I absolutely adore that story. While it was presented as the absolute truth, I’m not sure how much of it to believe, but it makes me smile regardless. It could also explain why the Teen and I are good marksmen and handle firearms so easily. I like to think so, anyway.
It’s the passion that I have inherited from my Irish ancestors that seems to get me into the most trouble though! I have quite a temper. I love and loathe equally passionately. I protect those I love fiercely. I sing with my whole heart. And that same heart breaks so easily, it seems.
One thing I definitely do NOT share with my Irish brethren, however, is a love of Guinness, and Irish Whiskey. Somewhere I believe I must have a wily Russian ancestor who slipped into the mix, because vodka is most definitely what I adhere to when out with friends.
Perhaps if I tinted my Twisted Raspberry vodka cooler green, I could mix happily and not be ostracized? It’s certainly worth a shot (or two)!
Happy St. Patrick’s Day, my friends. Today you are Irish too. Enjoy!
