St. Patrick's Day 2010

Dear Jack,

The Nolens are Irish. Sort of.

Mostly, like most Americans, the Nolens are now a happy mixture of many, many nationalities in the tradition of the great American melting pot. Up until recently, your dad and I were happy to just be "American" without any claim to prior heritage.

Then we lost your Uncle James.

Uncle James loved being Irish. He thought it was the coolest thing ever that the Nolen surname (and at least one Nolen male in somewhere in the family line) came over from Ireland. One of his famous tattoos even said, "Irish pride."

So it seemed only right that we celebrate St. Paddy's Day in all it's glory, to honor your uncle. Of course, as a family, we had always marked St. Patrick's Day since it was St. Patrick's Day 2006 that your dad and I found that your sister was on the way, but with you in the picture, it seemed wrong to make such a fuss over that day for her when October 2, 2008 isn't as easy to remember (in fact, was it the 2nd or the 4th?). So this year, St. Patrick's Day went from being a cool day to go out to Bennigan's (which is out of business anyway) or to celebrate your sister (who is neat and all, but you deserve celebration as well) to the honoring of a lost uncle and the celebration of heritage and family in general.

So, I dressed you and your sister as Irish as I could. Your dad wore his old "Made in Ireland" t-shirt and I even dressed up myself this year. We went out the Nature Center and then to the Riverside Park and finally lunch at Red Robin (your sister's request).

As with many of our outings these days, my favorite part was holding you while you slept. You are so beautiful to me and I love watching you sleep. I love the weight of you in my arms and the primal feeling of maternal protection as I hold you.

But I also loved watching you play. At the Nature Center, you couldn't really enjoy the water like your sister did, so we went to the Riverside park in large part to let you enjoy some time in the water you love so much.

And no, you didn't get to end the day with a milkshake like the rest of us, but you did enjoy a cheese-less grilled cheese sandwich (that would be just bread) and fries and you ate mandarin oranges like they were candy.

Mostly, though, you got to spend the day with your sort of Irish family. And as we have so harshly been reminded lately, that isn't anything to take for granted.

So Happy St. Patrick's Day, son.
Love,
Mom