Those crafty leprechauns visited Jane’s house on Wednesday and left quite the scene!
I’m Irish. Complete with smilin’ Irish green eyes. Fiery temper? No. (but please don’t ask my husband) And St. Patrick’s Day is a fun day, to be sure. So before I left to do a few errands and pick up the boys from school I remembered to plot a little leprechaun mischief. But between the dry cleaners and the grocery store and the carpool line, I completely forgot about how I had left the house.
When we pulled into the garage I started barking orders: Don’t forget your lunch box, Take off your shoes, Wait – dump the sand out first, Hang up your jackets. My typical weekday refrain. This particular day, I was interrupted.
“Mom! Quick! You GOTTA see this! Hurry! The leprechauns were here!!!”
I raced in and faked surprise.
Their sweet little faces were lit up in wonder.
Stuffed animals watching TV.
Stuffed animals taking a nap.
Stuffed animals warming themselves by the fireplace.
Stuffed animals jammin’ to the radio.
“Do you think they did anything else?” #1son said excitedly, “Let’s go check!”
He and his little brother raced through the house looking for more clues. But there were none. And I was still standing there, stunned that they really thought leprechauns had brought all of the stuffed animals downstairs and arranged them ever so cleverly about the family room. I kept waiting for them to figure out that good ol’ mom had been messing with them. But the longer they chattered about how great and how funny the leprechauns were, the more I felt lame for not doing more.
“Mom, Look!” #2son shouted from the kitchen, “They even brought chocolate cupcakes for us!”
Six cupcakes, under the glass cake plate dome, purchased from the grocery store. Complete with green sprinkles and a little pot of gold on each one. He knows (and shares) my weakness for chocolate.
When are they going to figure it out? I wondered.
“Can we leave them out for Daddy to see? This is so funny!” #1son was hopping up and down.
“Of course, now go wash your hands for snack, ” I shooed them into the bathroom.
Childlike wonder. Innocent joy. It is so precious and fills my heart every time I witness it.
I’ve always known that I will encourage a suspension of disbelief when it comes to Santa Claus. (And you all know how I feel about Santa Claus) I believe in his spirit of kindness and giving. I know it exists. I believe Santa lives in all of us; we just need to know how to best share his gifts. But I never thought I’d continue a ruse about leprechauns. In fact, I purposely keep my kids out of the mall during Easter. I think that person dressed in a rabbit costume is ridiculous and I don’t want to take the chance that my kids would put 2 and 2 together and somehow attach their, however misguided, conclusions to Santa.
But maybe they’re onto something here. What’s wrong with a little wonder? A little magic in our day?
I’m part Irish – I could pass for a leprechaun.
And what fun it was! It brightened their afternoon. It brightened MY afternoon more than I had anticipated.
And they shared that joy with me.
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