Calvin O'Russell visits the Jensens!

Each year, we have a special leprechaun visit our house on March 17th. His name is Calvin O'Russell, and he likes to play tricks on our family. This year, he left us a treat for breakfast...Lucky Charms (which we don't usually buy, because of the marshmallows), a green table cloth, and he turned our silverware green. He left the kids each a new green shirt and hat (or hair) and a green toy. He left shamrock stickers in with the lunch sacks, along with an array of green food for their lunches. We also noticed he left us a card with his picture on it.

I always loved going to my mother's parents house on St. Patrick's Day and eating corned beef and cabbage and Irish soda bread. It was a special holiday, since I didn't know anyone else that really celebrated St. Patrick's Day, other than just wearing green. My grandfather (Calvin George Harold Russell)passed away in Dec. 1998, and the tradition kind of ended. I wanted to share the fun of St. Patrick's Day with my family, so in 2001, I "invented" our special leprechaun (Calvin O'Russell)to keep my grandpa's spirit alive for my children. I have had a lot of fun with it, and although St. Patrick's Day isn't really about leprechauns and gold...to me it is about family and ancestory and keeping our distant relatives in our lives. They know who he was, and we get to remember him today.