Once I arrived on Irish soil all the stress and fear left my body. I felt safe, secure, warm and welcomed. My cousins Paddy and Pauline met me at the airport. Although I should have been tired from my travel we talked, laughed and enjoyed the hour drive back home.
"Home" is my dad's birthplace where Paddy and Pauline have put many years of labor renovating the place. The house is on a hill overlooking the countryside. The weather was a perfect 60-ish temperature with an occasional drizzle. I felt complete walking the fields with the horses, going to aqua aerobics class, visiting with cousins and friends particularly those close to home. In nine days I was able to see three plays, visit a museum, go shopping in Northern Ireland, lounge and chat in pubs and cafes and stay up until 11pm because it was still daylight outside.
My favorite outing was my shopping trip with Pauline and Angela. Both ladies dressed to the nines to go shopping. Pauline with a nice gray pant suit, Angela dressed in purple skirt and jacket, scarf, hat and fabulous shoes. I didn't know we should dress up to go shopping. I slugged along in my jeans and sweatshirt. Another favorite was my visit with my neighbor Brendan who spent an hour explaining his method of environmental friendly sustainable agriculture. Brendan is an extremely intelligent young man who works full time as a farmer and full time environmental engineer. I recently had an email from him about bee keeping and raising alpacas in Ireland. And lastly, John Callaghan, who had put the tractor to bed for the night when I arrived at his house at 10pm. I wanted to ride the tractor and he pulled it out of the barn, mainly for a photo op. with me. We had a great time talking and sharing memories late into the night.
Back in the U.S. I had one week before I began classes for my professional development. I still haven't done the things I had planned for the summer around the house. Oh Well!!!
