Today is St. Patrick’s Day so I sent my children off to school this morning wearing green (well, my son’s wearing it and my daughter has on a ton of green eye liner) and with some extra treats in their lunches. For the past few years, my kids and I have set up a little leprechaun hotel the night of the 16th. We set out  treats and make a tiny place we think a leprechaun might want to stay for the night. We’ve always been successful – so much so that the leprechaun always leaves us a thank you gift in the morning. But seriously, my kids are getting a little old for this. Even my son suggested we skip it this year. I’m always worried that we’re making him grow out of things along with his sister which may be too early, so I insisted. The leprechaun brought each of the kids a pack of gum, and they were happy to shove some in their mouths on the way to school in defiance of the rules. I must say, they were good sports about the whole thing as obviously the only one of us not willing to let go of this tradition is me.

In light of events across the Pacific, I’ve been feeling extra grateful for my kids, their health, our comfort and safety, etc. It’s so easy to forget how precious our day to day lives really are. I’m sure we’re all feeling that way right now. We at Living Light want to reach out – not just to the people of Japan, but to you – our friends and family – and make it easy for you to do something. We’ve set up our own account with the American Red Cross so we can all make donations safely and confidently. Please visit our website soon for details. Together we can make a difference!