Can it really be 10 years already?

It seems so hard to believe that 10 years ago today, I was in Dublin. My friends Marta, Jessica, Kelly, and Marianne and myself headed out to see the St. Patrick's Day Parade, along O'Connell Street. Jessica, Kelly, and Marianne left a very determined Marta and me to go to the pubs and skip the parade. Marta and I spent the next hour or so craning our necks in an attempt to see the parade. I remember being a bit disappointed with the parade itself, but then again, it was Dublin, it was St. Patrick's Day, and I was a very excited 20 year old experiencing another country for the first time. It was such a good memory. After the parade, Marta and I headed to Temple Bar for the rest of the day. It was such a fun and special St. Patrick's Day.
In the past 10 years, I've celebrated in a variety of ways. There were the years that we went to the Irish Pub to listen to my friend Carol's husband's band, and to hang out with Carol. Somehow, dancing to La Bamba on St. Patrick's Day in an Irish pub in the middle of Germany was always a surreal experience.
There were the years I celebrated with my own homemade dinner of corned beef and cabbage. There was also the year I made my in-laws try Guiness.
This morning, dressed in green, on my way to work, I thought back to St. Patrick's Day when I was young. I remembered how my mom would give me a card every year, addressed to Allison O'Kohler, and signed, "the Leprechaun." And, I missed my mom. I thought about mom's corned beef and cabbage dinner, and gingerbread with green whipped cream for desert. Again, I missed my mom.
I thought about how I've really let St. Patrick's Day get away from me, and it made me really sad. It was a day that my mom always made really special for me. I hope that I can figure out a way to make the day really special for my family too.