When Matt's parents came to visit us in our old place, they were amazed by many of our Irish conventions. His dad spent an afternoon documenting our bathrooms and cupboards and kitchen layout. Having lived here over a year at the time, it was a bit funny to see our Irish house through new American eyes. We tend to forget how foreign it all seemed at first glance, when today most everything feels familiar, if not normal.
There are a few things, though, that take a bit longer getting used to...
Read moreDuring our previous Irish-incarnation, we lived in a tiny village in Meath, just over the Dublin county line. It was at least a 40 minute trek into Dublin City - on a good day by car; longer by train - and though we loved our town, we often felt isolated and longed for a bit of city-life.
Read moreJust over three years ago, we squeezed our family of five into two bedrooms in suburban Kansas City. Longtime family friends were empty nesters, and they graciously offered to share their house with us. Two dressers, our clothes and a television were the only things of ours we moved in.
Read moreWe've been to the edges of our little island. Such cold and windy days, we have to be careful from falling straight into the sea. On these daredevil patches of land and rock and sand, I try to open my eyes to it. The gusts, the force, the might. I stand on a field of baby white flowers, they barely notice it. It's all I can do to keep upright.
Even on our road on a mild spring day, the wind knocks us back on the balls of our feet. There's a breeze INSIDE my house, my friend says, and she speaks truth. Rattling our windows and moving our curtains. The wind here is wild. My hair here is wild.
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