Reclaiming Ireland

I know that I am not Irish. But, apart of me feels like I owned it. It was my Ireland. I knew tons of places to enjoy nature and life. There were high crosses and unprotected cliff paths to explore. Finding coves, rock beaches, and ruins were the way I spent my afternoons in Kilkenny. But, I feel like I lost that sense of adventure when I decided to put more time into one relationship. I still did some of that stuff, but it was much less. I put my time and energy into something else. I also shared these places I loved with someone who crushed me. So, in a way, I feel like I lost some of the places that I loved. This trip I took a day to reclaim the places I love. Margaretha and I went to Anne’s town beach and walked the cliff path. We went to Standbally Cove. When I got there, I was overcome by a sense of sadness about the promises that were said and broken. I composed a letter in my mind that I will never send. It spoke of hurt, grief, and lost visions. I had to shake off that mood because it is not fun to travel with someone who is sad. It took me sometime, but seeing Jennifer and helping her with the ceremony made a huge difference in my mood. Now, I just want to raise a pint to lovely memories in lovely places; to the old and new; to staying true to myself; and to not losing hope. Slàinte!

Jennifer's Re-wedding

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Second chances are necessary in life for friends and lovers. That is why I really appreciate Jennifer and Garry doing a second wedding celebration here in Ireland. It gave me an opportunity to be apart of their joy and excitement. I wanted to go to the first wedding in October 2011, but by the time I was looking for tickets, I was also moving into my new place, which caused me to bleed money. During this time, I was also feeling weird about going because the only person I really knew was Jennifer, and I thought I would be in the way.  I doubt that would have been the case, but like I said, I was feeling weird. My official thanks go out to Jennifer and Garry for their lovely celebration yesterday night at Stephen James Stephen hurling Club in Kilkenny. It was a lovely affair. I went over early to help Jennifer get into her dress. Then, after helping bring cakes to the club, I had to dive Garry back to the house because he had forgotten his wedding ring. HE had taken it off in the shower and just a few minutes before the ceremony started Jennifer realized it was gone. We ran back to the house. It was great to be able to spend the 10 minutes with Garry. I am happy that Jennifer found such a wonderful man. They had a renewal of their vows. Garry’s twin sisters Margaret and Ellen read the readings from the wedding. They lit a unity candle, and said ‘I do’ all over again. Then, there were sandwiches, sausages, and sweets. By the end of the night, when the crowd had thinned out a bit, we enjoyed dancing with the bride and groom. It was all a bit of good craic.