Friday, October 9, 2009

:: the pipes. the pipes. are calling.

somewhere in time, amongst the great-great-great's on my father's side, a man decided to move his family out of famished ireland---and into the great nation of america.

and it is because of said man that i am here today.

growing up, my paternal grandpa was, with nearly every breath he took, reminding us of the importance of our irish heritage. and even though my nationality is a delightful mixture of cultures and countries, i came to honor my "irish-ness" above all else. (i occasionally allowed myself to admit that i am part native american--especially when pocahontas was big).

my grandfather passed away when i was 8 years old. i regret that i never got to know him as an adult. that i never got the opportunity to hear and appreciate his stories. that he was never able to see my passion & delight in where i come from. but i think he might know.

it's one of my ultimate goals to step foot on irish soil. to set my sights on the towns and mountains and castles of the land my family originated. to do so would fill a spot in my soul. i can almost see myself in a lush, green valley. eyes closed. sweater wrapped snugly around me. wind whipping my hair about my face. being home for the first time.

smiling. knowing that, up above. my grandpa was smiling too.






photos courtesy of my friend niamh--wh0 lived in ireland till she was 7.
i told her it would be in her best interest to plan on my accompaniment on her next trek to the land of the green hills.
our friendship assuredly depends on it :)

4 comments:

  1. Beautiful! Ireland is on my list of places to go. My hubby has an aunt/uncle there! Let's go and crash at their place. ;)

    ReplyDelete
  2. i'm 25% irish and i am dying to go to ireland as well.

    ReplyDelete
  3. since you care....even though this has nothing to do w/ being irish (my checks are rosy, thanks irish blood) BUT my cousin had informed me about the harvest moon latte. i assumed starbucks. HAHA! it was from a different coffee shop! wow. but i ordered it anyway, and sbucks made it. and it was good. so....yeah. :)

    ReplyDelete

lovelovelove.