My Granny

I consider myself lucky. I have been able to visit Ireland twice so far in my young life. The second time I went to Ireland I was all of 21 years old and was able to stay for months. I received my Irish citizenship that summer. It was a summer that changed the direction of my life entirely. I had the time of my life. I learned many lessons.

My mom was raised in Avoca, Ireland. A small, quaint little town brought to fame because of a show that aired years ago called "Ballykissangel". My mom moved to Long Beach, CA to be a nanny and go to college in her early twenties. She ended up getting married and staying in America to raise a family. One brother moved to Canada and another brother moved to Australia. Two sisters remained in Ireland to raise their families. For being from such a small town... it's amazing how much they all traveled and how far spread out they are now!

The summer of 2001 was one of my Granny's last. She still lived in her small house up the Red Road in Avoca. I spent everyday with her for several weeks. I got to know her better. She did crossword puzzles every morning. And boy was she sharp! She liked to tell jokes and had very sound advice. I can hear her laugh echo in my mind still. And to be honest I think she was a bit of a flirt! I had big decisions to make and she helped me make some of them. She taught me, through a very funny analogy, that it's not good to worry so much. Sometimes we can be so busy worrying that we are incapable of seeing the solution right in front of us. Let life play out a bit. We can only control how we react to the hand we are dealt in this life.

I know that as a parent my Granny buried two young babies and a husband and a very young age. Even as a widow 40 years later she still wore a wedding band and never remarried. My grandfather heard the click of her heels against the road 60 years prior and fell in love with my Granny "just by the walk of her". I know because of the intense grief which follows death that maybe she didn't make all of the best decisions. But what I do know is that she taught her children that there was a big world out there, bigger than Avoca or Dublin. As a result, 5 siblings reside in 4 different countries today. So here I am, a first generation American, with the luxury of having deep roots firmly planted in Ireland as well.