Snowy St. Pat's

Well, I suppose having the earliest St. Pat's Parade in recent memory (I mean, March 1st??! Freezing February has barely left the room) was bound to produce some spectacular scenery. But I was hoping for something more like sunshine and 50F degrees. Not more snow. Jeez. I'm so over this eternal winter I can't even see straight. It's been a brutal one just in terms of the number of continuous days below freezing. I think February was the third coldest on record and I don't need to feel the top two to know that ours was bad. And while the snow hasn't been anything like what our Northeastern neighbors in Boston and beyond experienced, it hasn't been all frosty the snowmen and cups of cocoa. It's been rough. Rough to be stuck in an apartment with two kids and constantly looking for activities that don't cost a small fortune to keep all of us entertained for a few hours away from home. So enough whining...back to the parade. It was supposed to be a real highlight of the month for us. I always love seeing the neighborhood turn out in droves to cheer and wear some green. Sunnyside has always had a strong Irish presence and it continues to this day with lots of families we know from Ireland or with ties to the motherland. And this would be our first year with a real reason to march--Elisa's Daisy Scout troop has a banner that they always carry up Skillman Ave, proudly representing the girls in green. So naturally I was doubly eager and not turned off by a chance of snow. In fact, it looked like just a few flurries as I left the house, though the forecasts were calling for it to continue all afternoon. Little did I realize it would be a real slushiest out there with at least 3 inches after all was said and done. 

Unfortunately, Elisa wasn't in the best mood to begin the day, so trying to rally her to get out and march in the snow seemed like a long shot. But I suited and booted her up and by the time we were out there waiting for the procession to begin, she was mildly subdued. She always seems to have the most trouble getting out the door. Still. Six years later. Ooof. It was a struggle that day. But I made it clear that she couldn't back out for no apparent reason (she wasn't even citing the snow. She claimed to have a headache, then a cough and bellyache). Yeah, no dice.  I think sometimes she just wants to test her powers of control and it wasn't working that day. So off we went to meet up a little early with the rest of her troop, and again, by the time Nacho showed up with Carolina it was mostly all smiles. I snuck away for a few minutes to get some photos of the surrounding hubbub and then they were ready to roll. Mayor De Blasio was back again this year to proclaim his affinity for our all inclusive parade and I was happy to see a few recognizable faces from the groups that marched. It was definitely not well attended by the rest of NYC, but for Sunnyside, the parade means a lot. And even if there were more marchers that watchers this year, it was still fun. But mostly I was glad when we bailed at the top of Skillman and ordered some takeaway Thai food and spent the rest of the afternoon hanging out with Irene and Jose. That was the perfect cozy ending to what turned out to be a very snowy day.