It’s after midnight and Camille is still working on homework. I have made sure I am wearing green because we take that very seriously in our house. Patrick loved to see who wasn’t wearing green and make sure they were pinched. A silly tradition but we always had fun with it. I always thought it was cool that my husband had a special day for his name.
The kids next door loved Patrick. Last year on March 17th I went out to get the mail and ran into our neighbor, Brandie. She told me her son, Evan, a first grader, couldn’t wait for Patrick to get home so he could wish him a Happy Birthday! She tried to explain that it wasn’t really his birthday but he wasn’t buying it. I watched for Patrick to get home and Evan quickly ran over when he did. Patrick told him he was crazy or something and then acted crazy with a silly voice. I used to worry that his behavior would actually scare kids since he would yell things like, “What are you doing on my sidewalk?!” Kids always seemed to “get” him though. Evan and his little sister, Tabitha, would just giggle as he basically ranted st them. I always got a kick out of watching him with them.
Recently it occurred to me that Evan and Tabitha might not remember Patrick anymore and this made me sad. Then I spoke to Brandie right after the last hearing and she told me she had seen the video of me speaking (breaking down) at the sentencing. She said she cried and Evan cried too, which was even sadder.
I know when someone is gone you seem to remember them with rose-colored glasses. My Patrick wasn’t really a saint but he was a good man and a lot of people loved him. As hard as it is to miss him every, single, day, it’s a blessing to know how many people he had a positive impact on (even if it was just making them laugh). People still share stories about Patrick with me and I always enjoy hearing them. My greatest wish is to keep his memory alive and to live life doing things that would make him proud, or just make him laugh. So, as you go about your day, make someone smile, make someone laugh and smile as you remember Patrick. PS Bonus points for pinching anyone who is not wearing green! ❤️😇☘️☘️☘️🍀🌈
#mypatricksday #notthesamewithouthim #grief