Pirates and Shields

Today, of course, be "Talk Like a Pirate Day." Therefore, we've been saying "arrr" all day, for fear of being keelhauled or at least laughed at derisively.

Having just watched a ton of pirate movies in May, we didn't go in that direction for the evening. In fact, it was one of those "recovery" days for the three of us, having just endured another sleep-deprived weekend filled with activity.

Madison and Daddy did some speech practice, and Madison is nailing words like "spook," which is just in time for October. The challenge is the "s" at the beginning and the "k" at the end. You probably don't remember the first time you mastered this combination, but if you did, you'd remember that it was actually a pretty big deal. With some help and guidance, she's been able to do the "s" combo words, and many words that end in "k" or "p." We're pretty pleased with this, obviously. There were high-fives all around, and of course an occasional "arrr!"

Here's Madison's latest coloring from Sunday School, colored in just yesterday:

It is a shield of faith that she has brightly colored in. And now, she can carry around a shield like Captain America.

As this blog is largely a letter to Madison about her and us, I suppose it would be good to throw in a reference to our family's coat of arms. This is proudly displayed on our garage door so all the neighbors can see it.

Okay, so it isn't. Seriously, Daddy has no idea about our coat of arms for our last name. Or Mommy's last name either. BUT, we do know about some other coats of arms (is that the right way of making it plural?). Further back in the family, Daddy has Irish family heritage galore (that's on Ye Ye's side of the family). Daddy's grandmother (on Ye Ye's side) is a McCann - a pure Irish family, just off the boat. Sort of like Marty McFly's family from "Back to the Future III." Remember the friendly

Irish McFlys?

For those of you at home keeping score, this is Séamus McFly, presumably the father or grandfather of one George McFly. This is notable, as our family in that Irish direction has a large number of Georges: George McCann to be exact. He probably wore a hat just like this. And, his shield (I bet you thought I forgot where all this was going!) looked exactly like this one you see here:

Yes, when he and the other family members came off the boat at Ellis Island, they were carrying a large shield that looked just like that one. They used it to fend off paparazzi and telemarketers, and occasionally used it like a large umbrella with a giant red boar on it.

On Mommy's side, we go back to

Wales. That's on Mommy's mother's side. Here's a shield we found earlier, and proof that the Welsh side of family was fond of albino owls holding roses, playing chess, and Old Spice deodorant. Actually, I have no idea what any of the symbolism means. Maybe that's on the other side of the shield in small print or something. I'm guessing the owl means pure wisdom, the chess pieces mean strength, and the boat means... sailing. See? They spent all this time making this grand design, and could have invested a little bit of that time writing, "Okay, this is what your shield means." And now here I am, a descendant looking at my own shields going, "What on earth is that all about?

Once a year we find ourselves in a Celtic shop in Gatlinburg, and we remind ourselves what these shields look like, as the store seems to have a coat of arms for every family that ever originated from that area of the world. Last year, we got two salt and pepper shakers that look like leprechauns. This year, maybe we'll get a shield. Daddy can carry it around like a Celtic Knight. Which would be a great name for an Irish rock band, by the way.

There is a mystery of the shields. It is with Daddy's father's father and so on. And, Mommy's father's father. There probably is a shield for each, but it certainly isn't one that you can find quickly. There is probably a good reason for this, one that you no doubt have already figured out...Our other ancestors were pirates!

Arrr?