Whether you choose to cook corned beef and cabbage, make green eggs and ham, shamrock pancakes or minty milkshakes, this feast day of the patron Saint Patrick is a day to break-fast and enjoy a unique holiday with your community. 

Will you wear green to be invisible to leprechauns, so you can capture and barter his freedom for three wishes?  Don’t get pinched! Those sneaky fellas are out to remind you, the luck of the Irish is somewhere at the end of a rainbow.

Wear them, decorate with them, or give them away. Shamrocks, the official symbol of Ireland, were used to explain the Holy Trinity by Saint Patrick when he returned as a missionary to the land he was once enslaved.  This three leaf clover however has long been revered by the Irish people for its symbolism of a fresh start, Spring.

One thing is for sure, even if we celebrate on the day of the passing of Saint Patrick, it is clear the traditions that infuse with his remembrance are full of Hope!  A fresh start, a break in the norm, a treasure at the end of a path, Hope is a sustaining human gift.  We all embrace Hope when making a decision or are set on a course of action.  

I encourage you, better yet I challenge you to share your message of Hope and how you encourage your IDD persons to embrace their dreams via social media.  Use #Hope4IDD on all your posts and start a movement.