Amy sitting in McHugh's pub in Drogheda
Crystal and Bryan are here!!!! Like a kid at Christmas, I have been waiting
and waiting for them to get here. Ker and the girls have had to scrape me off
the ceiling a couple of times especially as we got closer to today. Apparently, I make some kind of squee-ing
sound and have some wild eyes when I am reminded that they are coming.
They arrived in Dublin at 8:30 am this morning (Sunday) but
left Portland yesterday (Saturday) at 2 pm (Irish time). Which is a LOONNNGGG day for them without
any sleep (because who--besides Kerry--can sleep on a plane?). Anyway, when they came out of the terminal
doors, I can admit to losing it a little.
I don’t remember blowing through the security ropes and grabbing up
Bryan in a bear hug, but I did. I must
of have been a sight because no airport staff got in my way or asked me to move
back. Then I saw Crys just right behind
him. And, I started to cry. Just a sniffle or two, nothing like melting
to the floor weeping or tearing at my hair or anything, but a couple of tears
just eeked out of me. It was pure happiness. I have missed them so much. Like a part of me that has been missing just
clicked back into place the moment I saw them.
It felt like something in my body was dislocated and required a little
pain to put back in place but that instant relief when all was as it should be. It was a joyful moment that is hard to describe.
We blew Bryan’s head right off his head by putting him in
the passenger seat of the car which he would think is the drivers seat. He kept trying to find the brake. When we went through our first turn circle,
he didn’t know quite how to handle it. His face was priceless. Totally hilarious.
It was time for a quick tour of Drogheda and stop at our
favorite coffee place—Esquires. But, as
it was Sunday, Esquires was not open for 30 minutes. So, I took Crystal into St Peter's in downtown Drogheda. It truly is a
breathtaking example of how beautiful the churches are here. It holds the bones of St. Oliver
Plunkett. No, really. It does.
St. Oliver’s head and some of his other bones are displayed in very
ornate cases. I think Crystal was
creeped out by it. I just want someone
to do me the favor of making sure that my bones and body parts are not on
display somewhere when it's my turn to go.
We left the church and found the boys chatting with the locals in the newspaper store across the street. After an enjoyable 10 minute conversation ranging in topics from the Troubles to beer, Esquires finally opened. I ordered my
favorite white coffee and made Crystal order a raisin scone for us to share. YUM!
You’ll never guess what happened when the owner came out of
the back…I asked him to teach me how to make the scones. HE SAID YES.
So, one thing of my Irish to do list will be done. I couldn’t make a date at the time because
I’m letting nothing in the way of my Bry and Crys time.
Fully caffeinated, we headed home from there. Crys and Bry wanted to see the girls and I had a date with a turkey and all the
fixin’s. Due to the Hunters arrival, I
declared Sunday to be our Thanksgiving Day.
Jet lag is a very real and debilitating thing, so it made sense to have
a down day when they arrived. Just to be clear, Thanksgiving is an American
holiday--it is not celebrated here in Ireland.
However, when I ordered the turkey from the butcher, he knew what the
holiday was.
It truly is a day of thanksgiving for me. I could not be more grateful to Crys and Bry
for making the trip over to spend the week with us. Moreover, their friendship
and love is such a gift that I never want to take for granted.
I could go on and on about what I am thankful for this year. But, I won't because those things are better said in person. So, to everyone at home, from everyone here, Happy
Thanksgiving.
No comments:
Post a Comment