St. Patrick’s Day in Savannah, Georgia.  One of the all-time greatest celebrations of my life.

The Irish came in droves to Savannah in the 1800s to dig canals, build roads and lay railroad track.  Most of them stayed.  With so many Irish, it was fitting that the first St. Patrick’s Day Parade took place there is 1813.  And the party has exploded on a grand scale ever since.

On March 17, 1995,  I descended upon Savannah with a couple college buddies looking for some St. Patrick’s Day shenanigans.  And we found it.  Great live music.  Delicious food.  Outrageous costumes.  And an abundance of green beer.

One particular bar on River Street sold a large, green Irish cup.  For only $5, you could fill the cup up to the (very) top with any alcohol from any bar along the strip.  That cup became the focal point of our trip!  For the rest of the weekend, we raised our green cups, belted out Irish songs, and generally basked in Irish merriment.

Upon returning home, the cup remained a constant companion on nights out with the boys.  But then a funny thing happened.  I got married.  Suddenly, someone decided it wasn’t so cool to walk around parties with a large green cup.  So my cherished cup went into semi-retirement on my dresser, where it collected coins to save for nice dinners and other “civilized” things.

Then another funny thing happened.  I started having kids.  And my green cup came to the rescue serving as a rinse cup for their baths.  The kids kept coming and the baths piled up.  The green cup was once again at the center of my life.

Now, the kids are a little too old for baths.  But the green cup lives on.  It currently serves  as a secondary intake for their college funds.  And on and on it goes

Just like that green cup, we are the same flesh and bones throughout our lives.  But we serve so many different functions.  We go through so many stages.  We have so many layers to explore!

Experience Adds Layers to Our Work Lives

In our work lives, we may start off leveraging one skill, but end up with a completely different set of skills later in our careers.  Early on, perhaps we lack confidence so we focus on the research angle.  Perhaps we crave structure and stick to a strict script and game plan.  Perhaps we take a backseat in the presentation and focus on the preparation.  Regardless of our contributions, we serve a valuable purpose.

As we grow, we find ourselves stepping out in front of the crowd.  We find ourselves improvising and letting things flow.  We find ourselves thundering away in the middle of a presentation.  We are still the same person.  But we can serve so many different roles.  Confidence and experience add layers to our skill set and change us for the better!

We All Evolve in Our Personal Lives

The same is true in our personal lives.  Early on, we may lack the maturity to make a commitment.  We may not know how to express our feelings.  We may focus too much on material things.  We may be overwhelmingly shy.  Some phases last longer than others.  But eventually, we will all evolve.

We are all capable of expressing love.  We are all capable of making a commitment.  We are all capable of taking tremendous strides in our maturity.  Sometimes, it comes with a defining moment.  Sometimes, it simply comes with the passage of time.  Sometimes, it hits us from out of the blue.  But we will all undergo some type of change.  We will all expand our roles.  We all have more layers than we think!

That green cup is constantly shifting roles!

We Can’t Stop the Change

Change is inevitable in our lives.  We are not static creatures.  And change adds to our resilience.

But sometimes that change is hard.  We want our jobs to stay comfortable.  We want our children to stay a certain age.  We want our relationships to stay peaceful.  But that is not going to happen.  So why fight it?

Enjoy the fluid nature of your life.  Celebrate the different stages.  Embrace the chaos that comes with sudden change.  Appreciate the many roles we have to play in our own lives. We are not one-dimensional.

And wouldn’t our lives be boring if we always stayed the same?

The Green Cup Keeps on Changing

Life never stands still.  Some stages are more exciting than others.  Some stages are more enjoyable than others.  But every stage is worth celebrating.  Every stage is an opportunity to evolve and grow.

My beloved green cup will one day serve another purpose.  Perhaps when the kids are out of the house, I will complete the circle and once again fill it with $5 drinks!

And I know we will all complete our own circle of life and fulfill our own destiny!

Until next week, keep smiling!