I love tradition. Lucky for me, this country and this House of Brigid community are full of so much it!
In keeping with the Duffey family tradition, Patrick made sure that there was a bowl stocked with candy for the entire week leading up to Halloween. And per the Pirtle family tradition, our Halloween dinner consisted of chili-dogs and chocolate milkshakes followed by a group watch of “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown.” It was definitely a group effort as we scrounged around the different grocery stores in town looking for ingredients to somehow achieve what we were going for but the end result was absolutely delicious! We completely devoured every last bite. I was obviously super glad that Carolyn shared this tradition with us and even thought about how great it would be to incorporate something similar into my family one day.
Before this I was admittedly a little sad throughout the weekend about missing the Folk Choir’s 30th Reunion celebration back at Notre Dame. I wanted to be there with all my friends, singing and celebrating there at the place that brought us together. But something as simple yet completely wonderful as the Pirtle Halloween chili-dog and milkshake dinner (a large step away from our normal vegetarian way of life), reminded me of why it is so important that we are here, not just living in the community of the four of us, but living in the community of small town Wexford.
We all come from different places with different expectations, experiences and customs. Through the sharing of our gifts and ourselves, not only do we gain so many valuable life lessons that will help us tremendously in the end, but we are better able to soak up all we have to learn and gain from this beautiful culture as well. Through our relationships in our parish community we are sharing our traditions and what we have to offer with the people of Ireland, just as all those we encounter here are so eager to share their traditions and wisdom with us.
I do believe that this is exactly what we were called to do as members of the Folk Choir and as graduates of the University of Notre Dame, to take our gifts and our song into the world and to share them with others to be used for good. It was this strong tradition of faith and commitment to service that brought this community together here in Wexford. And so for this tradition and so many others, I am forever grateful.
