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Friday, March 20, 2009

But I'm Not Even Irish...

I am not a prankster. Not a big fan of the practical joke.

Oh, I am funny. One of my friends tells me all the time that I should be a stand-up comedian (comedienne?) but I think she just might like the idea of seeing people laughing at me. Possibly throwing things.

I do have a sense of humor. I enjoy a touch of sarcasm here and there...


But, I am not much for the April Fools' joke - the freezing of underwear, the Saran-wrapping of toilets, the swapping of sugar and salt - not my thing.

And I forget every year about the whole Leprechaun myth that has somehow been introduced to my children.

This must be a new thing. I don't remember this from my childhood. April Fools? Yes. Green beer? Sure. (Not as a CHILD...work with me here...) Pink hearts, yellow moons, orange stars, green clovers? Check. Shamrock Shakes? Haven't had the pleasure, but surely I am aware of their existence.

But, mysterious mischievous little critters running around secretly messing things up? Um...nope, doesn't ring a bell.

In pre-school, my kids were introduced to the Leprechaun and his shenanigans. Green footprints all around the classroom. Frequent spottings of glitter left behind here and there. Hidden toys. All kinds of fun stuff.

I was under the impression that the Leprechauns only pulled their pranks in school. And really possibly only at the Kindercare. Never heard of it anywhere else.

And then Tater came home from school on Tuesday and asked if anything "weird" had happened while he was at school. And when I said no, he seemed unconvinced. Was I SURE that there wasn't anything wrecked? Or missing? Or, perhaps, GREEN???

Nope. None of that.

As we walked home from the bus stop he told me that, while his class was at recess, the Leprechaun had come into the classroom and left glitter and stickers on the desks. So apparently, the "wee folk" have made their way into the elementary school! Who knew?

And he was sure that if we looked around the house enough there was sure to be some sign of elfin (fairyish?) foul play.


I quickly debated slipping some green food coloring into the milk. But, not completely on board with the idea of drinking green milk for the rest of the week, I decided against it.

I told him that the "little green men" probably hung around the schools since that's where all of the kids are during the day. And of course they know it is more fun to play tricks when there are kids around to enjoy it.

I think he was disappointed that there were no signs of prankitude around the house. I guess I could consider altering my "no pranks" policy if there is continuing interest next year. Although keeping all of the magical characters hanging out around here straight is getting a little exhausting.

But maybe if I had a big pot of gold for inspiration, I would change my tune!
Maybe just a little one?

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I do not recall this from childhood either - it did not happen in NE Ohio "back in the day" either. But...it is alive and well in preschool and Elem school in NC to be sure. And has spilled over into the house as our 5 year old likes to lure the little guy (is there more than one?) into traps under the false pretense that the little plastic gold painted coins are REAL gold. He of course steals it and leaves chocolate behind. Weird.

Karyn S. said...

I don't remember the leprechaun tradition from childhood either, but it is definitely also alive and well at my kids' schools. A funny thing happened this year. On the night before St Patty's Day, my littlest guy, Ryan, decided to pull all of the magazines out and throw them around the room. My husband and I did not bother to clean them up before we went to bed. Well the next morning, Kameryn and Brennan were so excited - they saw the magazines all over the place and were jumping and screaming that the leprechauns had been to our house. We just said, yes, a little leprechaun did do that!