Happy 1st Anniversary to The Rerouted Skytress! This Wednesday will mark the first time I pushed the “Publish” button for my blog. Oh boy. I can’t tell you all how overly scared and nervous I was to push that button. I had never written a blog before. I had no idea what I was doing. I watched as many YouTube videos as I could to figure it all out. Of course, the YouTube videos made it all seem soooo easy. However, when I sat down to create my blog it wasn’t sooooo easy for me. I had an antiquated iPad. No one on YouTube was using an antiquated iPad to blog. I know. Crazy! Believe you me, I searched long and hard for that one person that was using my generation iPad. But, never underestimate what a Skytress can do…..especially with little information or understanding. Yep, we really are miracle workers. Amazingly, I did figured out how to build a blog on my old iPad. Well,..I should say, I figured out enough things to make the blog look presentable. I still don’t know how I did it really. It definitely helped that everyone was in quarantine. I had nothing better to do than to click on my iPad for hours. On the evening of April 7, 2020 I sat in my basement and pushed the “Publish” button. To my amazement I actually published my first blog! When I got positive responses from my family and friends a short time later, I was elated. My blog had taken flight. Now 52 weeks later, here we are!

I decided when I first started writing my blog that I would publish it only when I felt like it. I wasn’t going to stress out about having a set schedule for posting my blog. Skytresses and Skyters loathe stress. For those of you who have been faithfully reading my blog, you know I have been routinely publishing it on Monday evenings. I try to publish The Rerouted Skytress around the same time every week. Yep, sort of like an actual flight schedule. Not a strict flight schedule. Skytresses and Skyters loathe strict schedules. We are more “ish” people. You know, “ the flight departs 6-ish”. Somewhere along the way I decided I was going to post a blog every week for a year. This was not always the best decision. COVID-19 rerouted this Skytress right out of the skies. Many weeks I wondered what I was I going to write about. Thankfully, I don’t just have varicose veins from flying over 30 years. No, I have 30 years of Skytress stories. Thankfully, I also have family and friends. So, whether they wanted me to….or not. I’ve shared their stories too.

I loved the early days of writing my blog. I would write downstairs in the evening in my brother’s man cave while either the Cowboy Channel or the Hallmark Channel was on in the background. I discovered some of my best writing happened late at night when everyone was in bed. Unfortunately, I also, discovered some of my most inspirational writing came to me while I was in bed, too. Just as I was about to fall asleep, a clever phrase or thought would pop into my head. I was constantly jumping out of bed to jot down a line or word on a piece of paper. Early on I learned to write things down quickly. If I waited too long the perfect sentence or thought was gone. Oh, I cringe when I think of all those delightful sentences you all have missed. Yes. Simply because I was too lazy to get out of bed to write it down. Whoops. Sorry.

Last week’s blog got posted on Monday….if you were in the Mountain or Pacific times zones. If you were in the Eastern or Central time zones, well, your Monday blog post was in a holding pattern. You see, I was flying Monday and I didn’t get to the hotel in Birmingham until after midnight. Yes, I know there is a feature to set my blog post be published at a scheduled time. Only, I haven’t used it yet. I’m sure I will eventually get around to learning how to use this feature. After all, I figured out how to set up a blog site on an out-of-date iPad. Last week, however, I used the tried and true method of pushing the “Publish” button. I knew from my last Birmingham layover that they had a strong internet connection. So, I wasn’t too concerned about posting my blog when we got to the hotel. I, also, knew from my last Birmingham layover that I needed to throw a few extra things in my Skytress survival bag. Last time I had a Birmingham layover I didn’t have a hair dryer or even a plastic glass to drink out of. Darn you COVID-19! Thanks to my curly hair I survived without a hair dryer. But, I wasn’t willing to do another Birmingham layover without drinking my club soda and lime in a cup. I know. I can be so highfalutin at times. To my delight as I was signing my crew in at the hotel, the lady at the front desk asked us if we needed a hair dryer. Gosh, she must have been a Skytress in a previous life. We didn’t have to ask her for one. She also asked us if we need a coffee maker. Seriously! She was either a Skytress in a former life or an angel in this life. When I got to my hotel room I had to laugh. There was a hair dryer and a coffee maker in the room. There were also plastic glasses and paper cups. I surmised the hotel was starting to get back to normal. Or else, they just got tired of airline crews asking for these amenities and put them back in the hotel rooms. If the truth be told, it’s probably a little of both.

Last week was my first time flying as the Skytress In-Charge during COVID. Fortunately, I had a wonderful crew and the passengers were extremely nice. Even more fortunate, I didn’t have to be at the airport at 445am to catch a flight to Atlanta. No, I got to catch the 10am flight! What a treat. I did have to learn a few new Covid-19 PA’s for my trip. Well, I didn’t really have to learn them. I just had to read them. I’m sure you are thinking this seems easy enough right? Wrong. Whoever wrote the PA’s must have a vendetta against Skytresses and Skyters. The PA’s are awful, awful, awful. The new PA’s are supposed to be more streamlined, too. But, they really aren’t. Eventually, I just made sure I hit the major points and winged the rest. Skytresses and Skyters are obviously great at winging things. Gee whizz, I couldn’t resist typing that last line. Another beautiful thing happened on my trip. I got my Omaha Christmas ornament. Remember my trip with Ron and the emergency we had on the airplane? Remember how Ron collected magnets from cities that meant something to him? Remember how I collect Christmas ornaments from cities that mean something to me? Remember how Ron got his magnet to commemorate our adventurous trip together, but, I didn’t have an ornament? Wow! I’m asking you to remember a lot. I’ll try to remember not to do this ever again. Anyhow, when we landed in Omaha last week we had to go out into the gate area while the airplane was being fogged. So, I went to the itty-bitty gift shop in the airport. I immediately saw the Omaha magnets and thought of Ron. Amazingly, on another display I saw Omaha Christmas ornaments. There was even a selection to choose from. Imagine my delight. Imagine my dilemma. I scrutinized each ornament. I wanted to pick the perfect one. I know the lady in the gift shop thought I was a Lookie Lou just killing time until our airplane was sanitized. I mean who buys Christmas ornaments in March? Well, I do. I proudly walked up to the register with my ornament. I chose an ornament with “Nebraska” on it and not “Omaha “. I worried about this for a moment or two after I bought my ornament. Then I decided I’ve only flown into Omaha for the past 30 years. When we start flying into Lincoln and North Platte, Nebraska, I’ll reconsider my “Nebraska” Christmas ornament choice.

I’m going to give you all a moment to grab a tissue. I have some difficult news to pass along. You may have to grab a box of tissues. Here it goes…I won’t be posting my blog weekly for awhile. My plan is to post a blog twice a month for the next few months. Sorry. I’ll wait until you finish crying. Sadly, my Birmingham trip was my first trip back from vacation. Unfortunately for me, I don’t have vacation again until September. I’m, also, not planning to take any more company leaves because of COVID-19. Yes. I’m going to be a full-time Skytress for awhile. Like how I said for “awhile”? I chuckled at that, too. Yep, I’ll be a full-time Skytress until my next vacation in September. That’s five consecutive months of flying. Yikes! You better hand me some tissues! I’m not going to lie. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed dabbling as a Skytress this past year. I loved my company leaves ,as much as, my many weeks of vacation. All the time away from flying has made it easier for me to post my blog weekly. Fortunately, your loss will actually be your gain. I will have current Skytress stories to pass along. Yippee! Hey, in-flight beverage services return on April 14th. We are, also, eliminating the blocked middle seat on May 1st. These two changes alone should provide me with ample passenger and crew stories to blog about. Of course, I’ll still throw in a couple Oldies, but, Goodies stories every now and then. These stories aren’t Oldies, but Goodies stories for nothing!

Speaking about oldies, but, goodies. I have to update you on my Mom. Don’t worry. She won’t get mad I wrote that. Remember her nickname is Goodie. The oldie part? Well, let’s chalk that up to bad parenting. She really should have taught me to respect my elders better! My Mom is another reason I am not going to be writing a weekly blog. No, she didn’t ground me for referring to her as an oldie. Unfortunately, my Mom hit a bump on the road of life the other week. Actually, she hit the inside of the garage. She’s okay. But, she gave up driving right then and there. This was before we knew the brick fell off the outside of the house, too. But, that’s another story for another blog. Several days later my Mom ended up in the hospital with cellulitis. She was released from the hospital five days later. Unfortunately, she had another hiccup in life when she got home. My sister and I are tag- teaming to care for my Mom 24 -hours around the clock. It’s all good. My Mom took care of us 24 hours around the clock when we were younger. It’s time we reciprocated. I would love to spend more time writing my blog. But right now between flying full time and taking care of my Mom, writing a weekly blog isn’t feasible. Maybe once Mom is able to do more for herself and I am back in the swing of the Skytress life, I’ll go back to a weekly blog. Until then….we will meet back here on this blog site twice a month.

I’m incredibly proud of myself for posting 52 consecutive weeks of The Rerouted Skytress. I’m excited to push “Publish” on this blog post. One year of blogging is something to celebrate. Well, at least it is for me. It does help that I am a Skytress. We celebrate everything! When I wrote my first blog post, I referred to Ron’s card he gave me that said, “Let’s have a great trip”. Well, I am having a great trip blogging. I have no plans to stop writing. I hope you all continue to join me on this crazy adventure. Thank you for being part of this great trip this past year. Your comments and encouragement have been beautiful blessing to me. I couldn’t have soared this long without you. You are the best crew this Skytress could ever hope to fly with. So, Happy 1st Anniversary to you all, too!

This Sunday was Palm Sunday. Like every week since COVID -19, I attended Mass on-line. However, this Palm Sunday, I was more hopeful for the future. Last Palm Sunday, we were in the early stages of the pandemic. This time last year I wasn’t sure about much of anything. Well, I was definitely sure of one thing…. pandemics are awful, awful, awful! Yep, I am not a fan of pandemics. I even told God this. You know…in case he was in Heaven wondering about my thoughts on this particular topic. I was, also, sure I was going to do my part to make the pandemic end as quickly as it started. Yep, I told this to God, too. You know…in case he was in Heaven wondering what I was planning to do now that we had a pandemic. Like I said, last year I watched Palm Sunday on my iPad. When the priest mentioned we could drive up to church later that day to get our blessed Palms, I drove up there. Like I said, I was doing my part to end the pandemic. Irish Catholics are very superstitious. I didn’t want to jinx the world by not getting my blessed Palms. Yep,…I told this to God, too.

Palm Sunday is a very special day for Catholics for the obvious religious reasons. It is also special to Catholics for the non- obvious reasons. Yes, it’s the final week of surviving life without the things we gave up for Lent. Ah, yes, our Lenten sacrifices. I’m sure you have heard many Catholics talk about what they are giving up…or gave up…for Lent. We sort of make a big deal about it. Not because it is a beautiful thing to do. Even though it is. No. Mostly, we talk about it because it’s hard to give up things. Especially, things we love. All during Lent we talk about how on Easter Sunday the first thing we are going to do is…..enjoy what we gave up for Lent. Well, except for those who gave up swearing. I know many Catholics give up swearing for Lent. However, not too many admit they can’t wait until Easter Sunday so they can swear like a sailor again. No, the big thing Catholics talk about doing on Easter Sunday, usually entails eating something they gave up. I guarantee thousands of Catholics give up sugar items for Lent….particularly candy….especially chocolate. Many Catholics, also choose to give up their favorite drink for Lent. For many of people, this is soda. . When I was younger I usually gave up drinking soda for Lent. There were many Easter mornings I woke up and immediately drank a soda. Alleluia!!!…It was the most glorious thing as far as I was concerned. Ironically, now that I am older, I no longer drink soda. Go figure.

One Lent I decided I wasn’t going to give something up. No, I decided I was going to rejoice every day of Lent by doing something special. Yes, we Catholics have this option, too. It’s actually God approved. This particular Lent God spoke to my heart to chose this option. I chose to do something special for Ron during Lent. Ron could be very hard on himself at times. This made me sad. I always told Ron I wish he could see himself through my eyes. He was such an incredible human being. So, for Lent that year, I decided I would text him one thing each day that I admired and loved about him. Of course, my list was much longer than there are days of Lent. But, each morning I happily texted him one of his many special qualities. Some days Ron would reply with a witty text. He couldn’t help it. Humor was one of his best qualities. Some days he would simply say thank you. I know on these days his soul needed be reminded God blessed him with this marvelous trait. For Easter I gave Ron a booklet which contained each attribute I had texted him during Lent. I wanted him to have a tangible reminder of all his wonderful God-given qualities.

The next year for Lent I decided I would send Ron a quote to start each day. Ron loved to read. He loved things that made him think and touched his soul. We definitely had this in common. I actually have a Pinterest board were I pin quotes that speak to me in some way. Some are thought provoking quotes. Others are silly quotes that make my soul smile. I texted Ron a little of each type. After all, variety is the spice of life, right? One quote I sent Ron really surprised him. It was a quote by Albert Einstein. Ron loved quantum physics, the Black Hole, and a plethora of science topics. He loved to talk about Tesla….you know, the person Nikola Tesla, not the car. He, also, thoroughly enjoyed talking about Albert Einstein. Albert Einstein’s quote that peaked Ron’s interest was, “ A ship is always safe at the shore. But, that is not what it is built for”. Ron talked about this quote on numerous occasions. I think this quote spoke to him for several reasons. First, he was amazed Einstein said it. Let’s face it, Albert was known more for physics than philosophy. Second, Ron loved the reference to a ship on the water. One of Ron’s favorite things in life was being out on the water on a boat. One of my favorite things to do was sing Kenny Loggins’ “Return to Pooh Corner” to Ron. So, of course, I had to text Ron a quote from Winnie the Pooh. It was a quote from Tigger. Ron laughed at this quote. Which was what I had intended. That’s what I loved about Ron. He was extremely intelligent and had a phenomenal sense of humor.

The last Lenten list I created for Ron was his “song of the day” list. Anyone who knew Ron, knew he loved music. All kinds of music. What better way to start a music lover’s day than with a song,…right? Needless to say, this was the most joyful Lenten list to compile. It should be noted that I am not a very good singer. Actually, I’m pretty awful. So, I usually never sing around anyone. Incredibly, though, I sang with Ron all the time. We couldn’t help ourselves. Something would trigger a song in our heads and we would break out singing. Not surprisingly, some of those songs made the Lenten list. My list of songs for Lent was very diverse. Obviously, most songs on the Lenten list meant something extra- special to us. There were other songs I added to the list simply because I loved them. I knew Ron would appreciate them as well. I know Ron thoroughly loved my quirky list of songs. How did I know this? Well, he would tell me, of course! Happily, many days Ron reciprocate and he would text me my song for the day. He continued to do this long after Lent, too. Ron’s repertoire of music was vastly greater than mine. So, many times I had to google the song he deemed my song for the day. Ron would tease me for doing this. But, I didn’t mind. I love music. Unfortunately, I don’t remember the names of songs or who sang them. I clearly was not born with this gene. No. I was born with the Google gene, instead.

I didn’t give anything up for Lent this year. I, also, didn’t create any Lenten lists. Instead, I’ve been listening to the songs on the list I made for Ron. Not surprisingly, the songs still fill my soul. I’ve, also, been looking over my favorite quotes on Pinterest. There are over a thousand quotes on my Pinterest board. I know. That’s a lot. I tried to delete some. But, I can’t. All those saved quotes still inspire me. Hey, inspiration from music and much loved quotes during an awful pandemic is a beautiful thing. Of course, I don’t have to tell this to God in Heaven. No. He knows. It’s actually God approved. Have a blessed Holy Week my dear friends. Happy Easter.

Whew! It’s been quite a year for all of us. This time last year I was in my grocery store dumbstruck as people shopped while wearing plastic gloves and N95 face masks. A mask mandate was not in effect yet for my St Louis County. Unlike the people in my grocery store, I was taking a wait and see approach with COVID-19. I was adamant I was not going to get swept up in all the hysteria. Heck, I had St. Patrick’s Day to worry about.

The next week I was flabbergasted when I went to the grocery store. Yes, as we all know now….all the toilet paper was missing! The meat, eggs and milk products were also running low. I was no longer keeping a wait and see approach. Skytresses know about hoarding…..This was hoarding! I started to take a defensive shopping approach. I was going to make sure I stocked my basket while there were still things to buy. I took great pride in the fact that no one could tell I was an off-duty Skytress on a covert grocery store hoarding mission. That’s the beauty of being a Skytress or Skyter. We smile through everything. Only another Skytress or Skyter would be able to see the hoarding gleam in my eyes. I wasn’t wearing a face mask at this point in the new COVID-19 world. However, I was absolutely keeping my distance from the other shoppers. Skytresses and Skyters are professionals when it comes to keeping a healthy distance from potential virus carrying people.

Astonishingly, the next time I went to the grocery store I had to give myself a pep talk just to walk inside. It was similar to the pep talk I give myself before I do a New York to Florida flight. I told myself I could do it. I tried to convince myself it wouldn’t be as bad as I’ve made it out to be in my mind. I did wash my hands in the portable sink outside the grocery store before I walked into the newly designated “Entrance Only” side. I don’t know who thought of the sink….but, I have a huge suspicion a Skytress or Skyter suggested it. Yes, we know things! Yep, especially how gross people can be when it comes to cleanliness. Stunningly, when I went to check out there was a uniform security officer standing at the front of the store. They were there to deal with customers who were not adhering to the “one item only” signs. Mostly they were there to stop the toilet paper hoarders…..Only there wasn’t any toilet paper to hoard. I was relieved I didn’t need to buy toilet paper. No, unbeknownst to us, my family had won the toilet paper lottery. We had received our Amazon shipment of toilet paper and paper towels before the world went hoarding crazy. My poor niece in college couldn’t find any toilet paper anywhere near her school. Like everyone in the early days of the pandemic I was debating how much I loved her. Did I love her enough to give her some of our coveted toilet paper? Of course, I did. I didn’t have to though. Thankfully, my sister found and mailed her camping toilet paper. Whew!…for that discovery!

Today when I went into the grocery store I still wore my face mask. Amazingly, it was the first time in a year I could use either entrance into the store. It was like having a Known Crew Member entrance. And everyone going in and out of the store was a known crew member!Happily, the grocery store shelves have been stocked for months. When I walked down the paper aisle to get some parchment paper, I smiled. On the other side of the aisle the shelves were stocked with paper products. No one is hoarding it anymore. However, being the ever diligent hoarding Skytress, I admit I have rolls of paper towels and toilet paper stocked in my basement. I even have extra cleaning products and liquid soap. Hey, I know what it’s like to go from coast to coast on a plane without enough supplies. I’m not going through another pandemic without extra supplies. Whew! Let’s all pray we never have to go through another pandemic, though. One pandemic is enough for me.

Last Monday I got my 1st vaccine shot. It was the first day tier 3 people were allowed to receive their shots in Missouri. Whew! I was so relieved when I got my email on Saturday stating I could finally schedule my appointment. Skytresses and Skyters in other states have been getting vaccinated for weeks. I’m also relieved to know that when I go back flying on March 29th, I will be protected 60% with just the 1st shot. Then after I fly that trip, I will get my second vaccination. You can bet, I will be counting the 14 days after my second shot until I will be fully vaccinated. Our airline even has an app to update our vaccination status. The other day I was thrilled to check the box stating I received my first vaccination. Who knows how I will react when I get my second shot. I may just cry happy Skytress tears when I update my status to received second shot. Whew! I’ve been waiting for this day for a long time. But,…Haven’t we all!?

I know everyone has been waiting a long time for the return of an actual beverage service on our flights. When Skytresses and Skyters are looking forward to a regular in-flight service,…whew!…you know it’s been too long without one. I’m happy to report, everyone can look forward to our regular in-flight service returning very soon. That being said, I’m taking bets to see how long it takes for one of us to reminisce about the good old days when we just handed everyone a snack bag and moseyed to the back of the plane. Thankfully, our planes are continuing to fill up with passengers, too. After a year of losing millions of dollars each month, this month we may actually break even. Whew!!! And double Whew!! to this news. We still have middle seats blocked until April 30th, though. I won’t be surprised to see this policy discontinue after the 30th. So…middle-seat passengers…. Get ready to fight for your armrests again!

My next trip I will be the Skytress In-Charge. Whew! I haven’t flown in this role since COVID came into our lives. I have a whole new set of COVID PA’s to make as the Skytress In-Charge. So, I will definitely be reviewing them before my trip. I have a 30 hour layover in Birmingham. I don’t plan on doing anything with my crew. I know some crews have been hanging out together on their layovers for months. I also know this is how many have contracted COVID. I don’t want to mess things up before I get my second vaccination. I am so close. Last time I layed over in Birmingham they had removed the hair dryer and all the drinking glasses from the hotel room. According to the sign in the room, I wasn’t supposed to have an iron or ironing board either. Thankfully a fellow Skytress or Skyter hoarded these items for me. I’ll be curious to see if I have all these previously removed items in my room this time. Just in case, though, I’m bringing a plastic glass with me. Whew! I’ll be glad when the only extra thing I have to throw in my suitcase are cute layover clothes. I’ll be more glad to take the face masks out of my crew bags. I won’t throw them away though. Whew! I’d never do that. I’m a Skytress. Of course, I’ll put the face masks next to my hoarded paper products in my basement.

Whew! Yes. It has been quite a year for all of us! Like everyone I am very excited to see things returning back to normal. I pray everyone who wants to get a vaccination gets one. Needless to say, I look forward to hanging out with friends and family again. I’m also looking forward to hugging people outside my bubble again. You may not know this, but, Skytresses and Skyters are world class huggers. I’m definitely looking forward to going places without having to wear a face mask. I know I will have to go back to wearing makeup more regularly. I’m okay with this. Heck, I can’t count the number of people who have been deprived of my beautiful smile for months now. It’s a travesty, I know! I am absolutely looking forward to my company making a profit again. Oh, I look forward to all businesses making a profit again. The more the merrier! Mostly, though, I look forward to only being a hoarding Skytress on the airplane. Whew! After a year of hoarding off the airplane…That will be a VERY welcomed change.

Cead Mile Failte…..A Hundred Thousand Welcomes. Yes, welcome to my favorite holiday….St. Patrick’s Day! What can I say? This holiday just makes my Irish eyes smile. And what’s not to like about St. Patrick’s Day? There is corn beef, Irish soda bread, shamrock plants, gold coins and leprechauns. Okay, there is the awful boiled cabbage. But, lucky for me, I don’t cook it or eat it. No, I don’t put up with that shenanigans. If you are officially Irish, you don’t have to. It’s written in The Book of Kells …on page 223. That’s not a bunch of malarkey, either. No,…it’s a bunch of Latin!

Lucky for me, I am Irish on both sides of my family. As some of you may know, my Irish father and my Irish mother met in an Irish bar on St. Patrick’s Day in New York City. The rest, as they say, is Irish history. They got married and presto magic-o they had three lassies and two laddies. Talk about being lucky parents! Of course, my Dad made us drink his Magical Leprechaun Drink every St. Patrick’s Day to ensure we had the luck of the Irish all year long. The Irish can be a wee bit superstitious. Thankfully, the Magical Leprechaun Drink is magically delicious.

Astonishingly, I was the only kid in my school that wore a leprechaun corsage on St. Patrick’s Day. It was a small leprechaun doll that my Dad had the florist surround with green carnations. My Dad was a very clever Irish fellow. Somehow he saw the leprechaun and thought corsage. It did take a big hat pin to keep the corsage on my outfit. But, no one else had anything like it on St. Patrick’s Day. It made my Irish heart smile. Okay, my Mom and sisters also had leprechaun corsages. Obviously, I wore mine best. Thus, my Irish heart smiled a wee bit more than theirs.

My Dad was notorious for hanging our Irish flag outside whenever there was a special occasion. I’m sure he confused many people by flying the flag of Ireland on random days of the year. They, however, we not random to us. No, the flag meant there was someone special coming to visit, there was a birth, there was a wedding, or there was a party about to take place. Oh, how I treasure this flag. It reminds me of so many wonderful times growing up. Mostly, though, it reminds me of my Dad. You can bet, if our house was on fire and I could only take one personal item, I’d surely grab our Irish flag.

My Mom has another Irish tradition. She calls my sisters and me “Mary” followed by our birth name. There is Mary Maureen. Mary Patricia and Mary Eileen. When my brother Sean was being a pill, she would call him Mary Elizabeth. Thankfully, my Mom didn’t follow the Irish tradition to a Tee. Many Irish families actually name all their daughters Mary. Then they use their middle name for their primary name. I know. It’s weird and confusing. Thankfully, my Mom didn’t do this to us girls. We have Irish first names and Irish middle names. There isn’t one Mary in the family. Well, besides my Mom, Mary Ann. Funny, she doesn’t go by Ann, either. No, she is actually Mary Ann. We, however, just call her Mom. I know. It’s weird and confusing. My Dad’s only request when the grandchildren were born was that they have Irish names. Oh,…and that they go to Norte Dame. Well, at least they all have Irish names! We even give our dogs Irish names. We wouldn’t want anyone to think they aren’t part of our crazy Irish family. I know. We Irish can be weird and confusing. It’s what makes us so endearing.

Talk about being a wee bit crazy. Leave it to the Irish to figure out how to make corn beef. Yes. Throw some meat in a pot of boiling water with spices and cook it. That’s it. You don’t even have to watch the pot. I’m not sure if that is actually more genius than crazy. All I know is that it is delicious. Amazingly, I could eat corn beef every day. I do have a few Irish friends that are not fans of corn beef. Scandalous, I know. Thank goodness they are lovable Irish people and we overlook this disturbing fact. Even though cooking corn beef is easy, I sure feel pressure to make it taste delicious when I serve it to non-Irish. Unlike Italians, Germans and basically the rest of the world, the Irish are not known for their Irish recipes. But, if you are Irish you better not mess up the St. Patrick’s Day meal. After all, it’s only one meal the world expects us to know how to cook. Once I got an Irish cookbook to make some Irish cuisine. It was basically a notebook and not a cookbook. I did make some Irish soda bread from the cookbook. Sadly, it turned out harder than the Blarney Stone. My Dad tried to put a lot of butter and jam on it to soften it up. But, it really was inedible. I now buy an Irish soda bread mix that I doctor up a wee bit. I like a sweet Irish soda bread. So, I sprinkle sugar on the top. It still doesn’t taste like my friend Maureen Kelly’s soda bread. Her’s is the best I’ve ever eaten. But, at least now mine is edible without being slathered in Irish butter and jam. Oh, we still put butter and jam on it. Just not to soften it up. After all, we are Irish for goodness sakes.

Thankfully, Ron loved my corn beef and soda bread. He even loved my potatoes and carrots. He didn’t mind that I didn’t cook any cabbage on St. Patrick’s Day. Even though Ron was Swedish, I’m positive he knew about the exemption on page 223 in The Book of Kells. One St. Patrick’s Day Ron and I toasted the day with a wee bit of Irish cheer. I reminded Ron that “Slainte” is Gaelic for “Cheers”. So, we raised our glasses and said, Slainte. I paused briefly before I took my sip to see if Ron liked the Irish whiskey I had poured him. Ron drank his whiskey like he was drinking a glass of water. I stood there wide-eyed and speechless. I was stunned he was basically gulping down the whiskey. Then his face contorted. He coughed and clutched his chest. I could tell the whiskey was burning inside him. I finally found my words and asked him if he was okay. He looked at me and started to laugh. He explained he didn’t think I had poured him whiskey. Silly me. I never told him what was in the glass. I was too busy reminding him about Slainte. He thought I had given him a much sweeter liquor to drink. Sweeter was more my style. We laughed about this St. Patrick’s Day miscommunication all the time. Especially when we would toast each other and say Slainte. Usually, though, we were just drinking club soda and lime. We loved club soda and lime. It wasn’t a fancy drink. But, somewhere along the way it became our drink. Yep. It was our version of the Magical Leprechaun Drink.

I hope you all have your special Magical Leprechaun Drink on St. Patrick’s Day. I hope you have your fill of corn beef and edible Irish soda bread, too. Remember, if someone offers you that awful… awful… awful…boiled cabbage, refer them to page 223 in The Book of Kells. And when you see an Irish flag on Wednesday, I hope you think of my Dad in Heaven. I know I will. I know he and Ron will be watching over me on my favorite holiday. Of course, I will raise a glass of my Dad’s Magical Leprechaun Drink and a glass of Ron and my Magical Leprechaun Drink to them in Heaven. I know my Irish eyes will definitely be smiling as I toast them and say Slainte. Slainte to you,too, my dear friends. Happy St. Patrick’s Day!