Yes, I’m typically one of “those” moms: the kind that can’t let a holiday pass without making a fuss.  The overachieving, Pinterest-loving, stress-about-every-detail mom.  The more bad-ass mommy bloggers make fun of this type of mom, perhaps as a coping mechanism to make themselves feel better about not making such a fuss.

Let me clarify: I’m not judging, no matter which side of the situation you claim.  If you make a big to-do, fantastic.  If you don’t, super.  Moving on…

In the midst of IEP meetings, my husband landing a fabulous new job, and our everyday chaos, I completely forgot to have the kids make leprechaun traps, buy shirts adorned with shamrocks, and dye their milk green. It just never occurred to me.  I started seeing the posts on Facebook last night, though, sharing adorable pictures of all of those things.

Oops.

Here’s the thing, though: they did not even notice.  I did not feel bad about it.  Life went on.

I dug out green shirts for the kids to wear to school, and that’s about the extent of our St Patrick’s Day celebration.  Hey, at least they didn’t spend the day getting pinched, right?

I guess the lesson I learned here is that I don’t have to kill myself to create all these picture perfect holidays. The kids will still enjoy these “minor holidays”, even without all the extra fuss.  I’ll still put the effort forth for the big ones (I mean, at this point I can’t abandon the elf hijinks in December), and maybe next year we’ll at least hit the St Patty’s Day parade.  But, the point is, if we don’t do all these little things, we’ll all survive.  I can give myself permission to skip one of these holidays, here and there, and our world won’t collapse.  This realization alone makes this a lucky holiday for me.

I’ll leave you with this:

“May you always have walls for the winds,
a roof for the rain, tea beside the fire,
laughter to cheer you, those you love near you,
and all your heart might desire.”