Day 1 – Friday, 17th, Travel Day
Well we pushed our limits on packing and arriving at the
airport. It turns out Lucy is like her
mother in her desire to be “prepared” so now that we have two women like that,
in order to not waste time with arguments (which I could clearly see as I
dipped my toe in the waters of “Do you really need this?”) we just “brought it
all,” checking on the four largest bags in our house and carrying on two small
suitcases, as well as our personal items.
On top of this, Thomas dropped us off at the airport and then went to
park the car, and the kids and I spent the next 15 or 20 min, our personal
contents exposed to the world on the floor of ABIA, shifting things around
between bags to try and get them below 50 lbs each. It turns out it had been the wrong idea to
spend our time doing this to try to avoid paying an extra 100 bucks, and we
instead should have had one person take all the passports and check in at the
self check in kiosk, because once Thomas arrived and we zipped up our bags and
checked in, we found out we had missed the window for bag check in by 10 or 15
min. A nice man put us at the front of
the line where we proceeded to wait another 10 min as they helped the people in
front of us with their issues, after which your man behind the counter yelled,
“You can’t do that! You can’t just cut
in front of all these people! Go to the
back of the line!” (of 20 people and
their bags) Oh great. Not only would our bags likely not get to
Dublin, but at this point we were thinking WE wouldn’t be on our way to Dublin
any time soon! My friend John Quinn from
Dublin reminded me the night before to not stress and let Jesus take care of
the hard stuff for me while I travelled so I just prayed and hoped and put on
my best puppy dog face, and the first nice man talked to someone and managed to
come to our rescue and get us all set up!
A short security line ahead of us, and the rest of the trip was smooth
sailing!
Day 2 – Fri, First day in Dalkey
After a full Irish breakfast at our restaurant at the
airport (The Oak), we arrived to our AirBnB, a home built in the 1700s for a
sea captain, and lugged our 200 lbs of luggage up three flights of dirty stairs
to our bedrooms. The home is eccentric,
eclectic, antique, interesting, bathed in lovely light upstairs in the morning
through the old window panes, and washed in the deep moans of church bells
which float through the open windows from Sts Alphonsus Catholic Church
situated literally out the windows of the children’s rooms. The kitchen is a traditional Irish one – a
big rectangular table in the middle, the Arga stove lit and warm at all times,
a split door going outside to the back deck, and the radio always on. There is a piano which Lucy will practice
upon, and snacks in the fridge. The only
thing is that there are smells – not great smells – several different odours
experienced as one meanders through the house.
First the smell of old bacon grease, then a closet of chemicals, then a
mildew smell, an unidentified scent, and then just, well, the smell of “Old and
needs a good scrubbing.” And the other
downside, besides the wi-fi not making it up to our bedroom, is grungy floors,
and I mean F-I-L-T-H-Y. The rug running through
the main hallways and the master bedroom are worn and disgusting with old
stains, and the kitchen floors are sticky and covered in a coating of years of
grease and grime. The whole kitchen
actually needs a good scrub down.
Usually we take our shoes off in the house so as to not track in dirt,
but this time I considered having us take off our shoes to not PICK UP dirt!
Haha! Anyway, it has hot, running water,
sufficiently clean bathrooms, and interesting things to look at everywhere, and
green trees and ivy and mystique, and the kids seem content, so it is home for
several days.
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| Catholic church out Sam's window |
We all took a shower and took a nice 2 hour nap, and dragged
ourselves out of bed after Sam barely slept from bursting with excitement. He was pacing around waiting for us to wake
up to take him to his friend, Matthews, so we all got dressed and headed
over. Their reunion was sweet and
natural. They were thrilled to see each other in person, and to our surprise
there was no awkwardness over actually seeing each other in the flesh vs.
through Skype and online gaming. We
chatted with Jennifer, Matthews mum, and then they headed to Coliemore Harbour
to jump in the sea, which Thomas and Lucy and I headed to run some
errands. One of those errands was to
Benitos Italian restaurant. Thomas
worked very hard and put out feelers all over Ireland to try and get his hands
on some hurling All Ireland finals tickets for Croke Park the next day. Someone managed to score some for him from a
GAA club in Clare. The tickets had to be
sent to a business address, so he had them sent over to Benitos. We bumped into one of the managers on the
street (actually standing with Saul, the dry cleaner, in his shop) and he
welcomed us “home” and told Thomas they had his tickets. In fact, the young man’s name is Tom, and
when the tickets were delivered they asked his name and he replied, “Thomas,”
and the postman said, Great! These are
yours. Sign here. So they pulled off the heist and before we
knew it they were in Thomas’s red hands, and envious eyes were all over him for
the next 2 days!
It was a glorious day to recover from jet lag. One of the best days we had ever experience
for sitting on the patio of the Queens pub, where we thoroughly enjoyed our
first pints (and blackcurrant cordial in sparkling water) while chatting with
one of our favourite friendly servers who we call Georgie Porgie. 
Thomas got a shock today.
On our way from the airport he thought about how he would ring his boss,
Cormac, for a pint while we are here.
After we got to the Air BnB, he got an email from his admin. Cormac DIED while we were travelling
over!! Turns out he had prostate cancer
that had been in remission, but which came back with a vengeance. Everyone was stunned, including Thomas. You may remember that Thomas and Cormac,
while having a friendly relationship outside of work, had a lot of tension at
work. Cormac turned mean and aggressive
about a year into Thomas’s stay there, which mad Thomas’s life miserable every
day. I have been praying for him almost
daily since that time, and we have felt sad about that whole thing. So the thoughts and emotions that occurred,
really by both of us, were quite confusing. I had fantasized about sending
Cormac a letter telling him what I thought about the way he treated Thomas and
then forgiving him and reaching out to him on a spiritual level with God’s love
for him. Although it could have turned
out badly for Thomas professionally, there was a piece of me that wished I had
had the guts to do that. While I
resented the way he treated my husband, I really felt sorry for him. His father died at the same time Thomas’s
died, and he was so cold about it. He
covered up feelings with laughter, contrasting with rage. No one acts the way he did toward people
without having pain inside of them. We
are praying for his soul, and I hope that now that all that he was stressed
about and worked for is behind him and he is seeing ALL TRUTH, that God s mercy
will flood him with LOVE.
Day 3 – Sun, 19th, Dalkey
We tried to get up to go to the Family Mass which Lucy and
Sam used to sing and act in, but we were moving in setting cement with our
jetlag, so we ate breakfast and went to 1115 am. Bumped in to a few people – several of whom
were busy with church stuff (i.e. Fr. Declan racing in 2 minutes before Mass),
so conversations were brief and rushed.
A couple of others afterward expressed their cynicism over the World
Meeting of Families, especially in light of the latest abuse cover up
disclosure. “You see,” one of them said,
“It’s been 40 years since that infamous visit by Pope John Paul II. Now 40 years later, the only people that want
to go see the Pope are those same people, but they are 40 years older, and they
can’t handle the walking, etc.” I wish I
had known what I learned that evening – that this is 9th WMoF and
this one has set a record for most number of 18-34 year olds signed up to
attend. Off to Mugs for sandwiches on
the patio – more sunshine and fresh air – so lucky!
Bumped into another acquaintance who shared how she was feeling just about done with the Church over all this, and then when I reminded her that WE ARE the Church and that Jesus promised He would be with us til the end of the age and that the gates of the netherworld will not stand against it, and that SHE needs to let her light shine and BE the Church, she declared I needed to preach and she perked up in her Debbie Downer attitude. I had felt a little disappointed by the lack of enthusiasm, but then I remembered who I had talked to, and realized that it just so happens that we bumped into several people who generally are always like that.
Bumped into another acquaintance who shared how she was feeling just about done with the Church over all this, and then when I reminded her that WE ARE the Church and that Jesus promised He would be with us til the end of the age and that the gates of the netherworld will not stand against it, and that SHE needs to let her light shine and BE the Church, she declared I needed to preach and she perked up in her Debbie Downer attitude. I had felt a little disappointed by the lack of enthusiasm, but then I remembered who I had talked to, and realized that it just so happens that we bumped into several people who generally are always like that.
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| Penants and flags in the church car park to greet the Holy Father |
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| Catching up on the pope frezy over a whiskey |
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| Amy's friend's article in the Irish Catholic. |
Sam and Thomas took off for the DART station to head to Croke
for the All Ireland. Lucy and I looked
forward to getting ourselves organized and taking a little rest, but when we
got to the house I could NOT figure out HOW to open the door!! I was soon dying to go to the bathroom as I
jiggled the old key back and forth in the large keyhole, and I was losing my
patience. I decided first things first,
I need to find a restroom, so Lucy and I drover over to Elisabeth and Ross
MacMahon’s house in a mad state and did the peepee dance as we awaited
Elisabeth’s long climb up three flights to the front door. A lovely, warm reception awaited us, and
after using their nice new modern, clean restroom and washing up and drying
with her freshly ironed hand towels, we found ourselves enjoying cups of tea
over conversation which immediately turned into a history lesson by Ross, while
overlooking their 180 degree view of the Dublin Bay our their kitchen
window. 
Never at a loss for word with
them, our discussion covered such things as the Pope, the Church, the history
of the Irish newspapers, the Troubles, Texas transition, Thomas’s work, death,
aging and dying, learning to love, and finally…hurling….as Lucy and I watched
the finals on the telly with Ross while Elisabeth ironed more tea towels behind
us. The match was quite boring for most
of it – pretty much a blow out of Limerick over Galway. But then in the penalty time, Galway made a
huge run for it, scoring two goals and many unanswered points, and it got VERY
exciting! (Thomas later texted me that
Sam almost had a heart attack!) In the
end, our pick, Galway (of course), was unlucky to lose by 1 measily point. But we were thrilled for Limerick to win
their first All Ireland hurling final since I was 3 months old!
Next up – more tea and oatcakes, stepping outside a few times to watch a large beautiful sailboat, a cluster of kayakers, and illegal campers over discussions of neighborhood gossip and nude bathing, and it was suddenly time to scramble to find directions for Lucy and me to meet Thomas, Sam and some friends for dinner at a restaurant in Bray.
Never at a loss for word with
them, our discussion covered such things as the Pope, the Church, the history
of the Irish newspapers, the Troubles, Texas transition, Thomas’s work, death,
aging and dying, learning to love, and finally…hurling….as Lucy and I watched
the finals on the telly with Ross while Elisabeth ironed more tea towels behind
us. The match was quite boring for most
of it – pretty much a blow out of Limerick over Galway. But then in the penalty time, Galway made a
huge run for it, scoring two goals and many unanswered points, and it got VERY
exciting! (Thomas later texted me that
Sam almost had a heart attack!) In the
end, our pick, Galway (of course), was unlucky to lose by 1 measily point. But we were thrilled for Limerick to win
their first All Ireland hurling final since I was 3 months old! |
| Sam at Croker |
Next up – more tea and oatcakes, stepping outside a few times to watch a large beautiful sailboat, a cluster of kayakers, and illegal campers over discussions of neighborhood gossip and nude bathing, and it was suddenly time to scramble to find directions for Lucy and me to meet Thomas, Sam and some friends for dinner at a restaurant in Bray.
We met my friend, Judith, and her husband, Collin and aged 6
daughter, Joy, at Pizzas and Cream. We
became closer friends with Judith and Collin literally the week before we moved
when they attended our going away sing song.
I always liked Judith, and that night had given us a chance for all of
us to get to know one another better. We
talked all about hurling, and caught up with lively conversation. Collin is on the parish council at their
church in Bray, so we chatted a lot about ideas for parish renewal. He had read the book we had recommended 10
months ago, and he wanted more ideas and inspirations, as he feels like an
island. Sam and Lucy really hit it off
with their spunky, talkative, mature, also homeschooled daughter and hung out a
lot on the patio chasing a cat, etc. It
was really a lovely, blessed time.
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| I think they got on quite well |
Day 4 -- Mon, 20th, Dalkey
A rainy start to the day.
Sam arranged to see Matthew some more.
I arranged to meet up with one of my girls who I mentored in Alpha, Emily. Dropped Sam off and met Emily at the Killiney
Hill tea room. She had told me she only
had about 1 ½ hours, but her next plans kept not materializing, so she ended up
staying with me for 3 ½ hours over tea and a walk on the hill. She shared with me about her adventures in
travel to India this summer for volunteer work and how transforming it was for
her. It was obvious the Holy Spirit is
stirring in her, and He helped me help her see that, which she had not
identified.
Twas a very life-giving, edifying conversation. I got a surprise to see Sam and Matthew and his brother, Andrew, walk in with their dog and walk right up to the counter to buy ice pops and sodas. Sam pretended he didn’t see me for a bit, until I insisted he come over and be reacquainted with Emily, his former child minder. Later on my walk with Emily we bumped into them again in the trees on the hill. Sam seemed so grown up and light and free to be walking around town, exploring the woods, buying his own treats – without mum or da or sister around – and with someplace to GO. There is nowhere to go to in Canyon Creek in Austin really. It was fun to see him be a free kid.
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| got my long awaited run on Killiney Hill |
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| This mysterious looking forest always inspire my imagination |
Twas a very life-giving, edifying conversation. I got a surprise to see Sam and Matthew and his brother, Andrew, walk in with their dog and walk right up to the counter to buy ice pops and sodas. Sam pretended he didn’t see me for a bit, until I insisted he come over and be reacquainted with Emily, his former child minder. Later on my walk with Emily we bumped into them again in the trees on the hill. Sam seemed so grown up and light and free to be walking around town, exploring the woods, buying his own treats – without mum or da or sister around – and with someplace to GO. There is nowhere to go to in Canyon Creek in Austin really. It was fun to see him be a free kid.
Thomas and Lucy and I joined our good friend, Erik, at the
Grapevine for a glass (or two) of wine.
I love that one of our dear friends is our parents age, and he has such
an interesting story and outlook. We all
enjoy swapping thoughts and opinions, jokes, comparisons, and differing
perspectives. He has the greatest
stories and little Irish blessings to share. Sam walked in, we finished up, and then had
dinner at one of our favourites, the Magpie, although some of our regular meals
were no longer on the menu.
It is so good to prioritize being social for a bit. Life is so overflowing with commitment,
planning, stress, decisions. It feels
good to be spontaneous, to laugh, and be with other people who also are that
way – they will always be so dear to our heart.
Day 5 – Tues, 21st, Dalkey
We have so many people to see and so little time! This morning we had brunch with Ruth. Ruth was Lucy and Sam’s drama teacher at
church and was in the vision group with Thomas and me. The kids love her, and likewise she loves
them and thinks highly of them and their abilities. She is a fireball of inspiration and energy
to help renew the parish there and, after much encouragement by us, she
essentially took my place in the parish council. Ruth brought her little girl who was also in
their family Mass group, and Lucy kept her company playing games, etc. Good thing Lucy was there to be with her
because there was much to catch up on and ideas to explore in our lively almost
three hour meal! I am going to gain 100
lbs while here bc everyone wants to have leisurely meals, drinks, and
coffees/teas….so a lot of sitting and a lot of endulging in these couple of
weeks! Fortunately not so much for the
kids and Thomas – mostly me. My next
splurge was dessert and tea with another one of my “teens” (now 20),
Alanna. 
She has reached out to me quite
a bit since we met, and God has been good to touch her life. We also enjoyed a couple of hours together
over a cuppa in Dun Laoghaire.
Meanwhile, Thomas and the kids met Mairead, Joe, and Ruhamma at Killiney
Hill. Joe is Sam’s good friend – the one
who gave Sam locks of his hair, which Sam brought back to Texas! They got to enjoy a few hours of some
gorgeous fresh air and activity with walks and hurling and games of catch (Sam
was teaching Joe more about baseball).
After Alanna, I attempted to get my phone issue addressed and found out
that somewhere along the lines a payment had not been made so my phone got
cancelled. ☹ ☹ ☹ I am so sad
that I think I have lost my number. But
enough of practical things. Ugh….on to
the fun stuff! I took a lovely stroll
along the seafront in Dun Laoghaire, bumping into a couple from church, all
bubbly about going to Mass with Pope Francis, until Thomas and Lucy joined me
(Thomas and Joe went to Matthews house).
We kept walking and dipped our feet in the chilly Sandy Cove where loads
of young children, parents and teens were enjoying the lovely summer weather.
Finally, we ended the day with more drinks and eats at the
Queens and our beloved Benitos Italian.
So good to see many familiar faces.
Sam walked down to join us, hurleys in hand. He seemed so happy to be out with his Irish
friends and have a little freedom. He
can just walk places, hang out wherever, be outside, explore. He is a happy kid.
Side reflection within a reflection:
How have we felt about being back here in Dalkey? I think the consensus has been the same
across the board. It just feels natural. I personally do not find myself thinking, “Awww,
would you look at that. Remember
that? Remember when?” Instead it just feels like we have been on
holiday and are returning back. With the
exception of eating out most meals, it just feels normal – like we just slipped
right back in. Bumping into the same
people, having the same good conversations.
Our life here – just crammed into a couple of weeks. I thought that driving would be an adjustment,
but it really only took about 5 minutes to adjust back. I don’t grip the steering wheels with white
knuckles or cringe when Thomas drives past a hedge on my side of the van. It all feels right. But Texas has felt right, too. So now I do officially feel like I have two
homes. It doesn’t feel like an either/or
but an and/both. And I feel blessed that
we have discovered this beautiful, secret little place – one of the most
special places in the world. As our
friend, Erik says, “the center of civilization!” How did we get so lucky to not only visit
here, but to be an integral part of this community that is all bonded together
by this special little heaven on earth?
Not perfect, but even the imperfections make Dalkey unique – and so
gloriously wonderful.
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| Goat castle and Dalkey lamppost |
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