Life Goes On...

I've been so involved in living my life these past months, that I haven't taken the time to write about it. And, much has happened.

On July 28 my first grandchild, Isobel Grace, was born. I have become a GrandMother.

My daughter and her husband asked me to come to Dallas for the birth of their child, and of course I said YES! I arrived on the 11th of July, met by a very pregnant daughter and temperatures of 100+ degrees. Quite a difference from Dublin, I can tell you. Since I have been here, Texas has had over 40 days of triple digit temperatures. (I never thought I would say that I was looking forward to the weather cooling down to mid to high nineties, which is the case this weekend).

Izzie has brought so many gifts to my life in the month that she's been on this planet: seeing my beautiful daughter enter into motherhood (and a flood of memories, long forgotten, of tiny details about her birth and my own tentative first steps into motherhood); getting to know my lovely son-in-law in a way that wouldn't be possible under other, less intense, circumstances; watching the three of them together, and perhaps the greatest gift of all ~ making a contribution to the sense of security and self-esteem of this amazing little being (who seems to grow like time-lapse photography before our very eyes!) as she begins her way in this world. I know I could go on and on, but don't worry...I won't!

With the weather so hot, I can't go walking outside. So, within a few days of being here, I joined the local gym on a month-to-month basis. I've been going almost every day, using the treadmill, and eliptical as well as some resistance training for the old bones.

In addition to providing the opportunity to get some exercise, going to the gym has been a wonderful people watching opportunity as well. The treadmill is on the second level of the gym, so with Chicago, Rod Stewart or the Beach Boys singing away in my ears, I get a wonderful bird's-eye view of the world of weight machines down below. Fantastic grist for a writer/life coach's mill, I can tell you.

There is a quote on the opposite wall to where I usually "tread", and I've spent a good bit of time contemplating on it. There is no name attributed to it, so I cannot give credit where credit is due. Nonetheless, I'll share it with you; perhaps it will encourage you. (Clearly, this isn't only about physical strength):

Don't ever let weakness convince you that you lack strength.

More later.

Meanwhile... celebrate life (including your own!)

Jet Lag

Many of my friends, colleagues and clients think dividing my time between Maine and Ireland is very glamorous. Well, after almost two weeks of interrupted sleep - or no sleep at all, I'm here to tell you - glamorous is not a word I would use! Maybe because I spend such long periods of time away in the States (three months this time) it takes my body such a long time to re-set it's clock. (It's having a bit of trouble differentiating A.M. and P.M. at the moment.)

Going over isn't so bad because I gain five hours. But, coming back to Ireland I lose five hours, and boy, is my body desperately trying to find them! I'm used to being asleep by 11:00 and up by 5 or 6:00. I love those early hours before the world and the rest of the house gets up.

I'm enormously grateful that I'm able to do this travelling back and forth. And, I wouldn't have it any other way. But, it just seems the older I get, the harder it is to bounce back. I should take a picture of myself with rings under my eyes, my hair on end like I've put my finger in a socket and swollen ankles. Then, when someone comments on how glamorous my life is, I can pull out the picture....Oh, yeah? You think this glamorous!

Being awake during the night has brought a wonderful, unexpected pleasure: hearing birds sing all night long. With all the traffic noises stopped, no children shouting, the train not running, no stereo, or television - only the odd alarm going off now and then....there are a couple of birds who just sing away all night long. I wonder kind what they are? Perhaps one of these nights I'll go online and look it up. There's a thing to do, now!

We left in a snowstorm, for the second year in a row. Cold, too. It was in the minus single numbers shortly before we left. Contrast that with Dublin, where on my evening walk tonight I saw daffodils starting to shoot up. They'll be bobbing their little yellow heads in the wind by mid-February. Temperature was almost 50F the other day. Some of the geraniums in our window boxes are still in bloom, and my camellia tree outside the door is getting ready to blossom next month, too. A walk down to the back garden this morning led to our passionflower vine. I'd say some of those blooms will be open in the next couple of days. That's the picture I've attached here. It will bloom all the way through the Autumn.

I know it sounds like a tropical paradise - next to Maine, anyway - but even though the temperature doesn't get really low, it gets very damp, making the temp seem much colder. Winter here is about more rain than usual (is this possible, you ask?), lots of wind and damp, damp, damp. I do a lot of work sitting by the fire during the afternoons.

February isn't just spring flowers blooming...it's also when we begin to see a lovely "stretch" in the day, as they say here. One magical evening in February, it will be remarkably lighter, just that little bit later, and all hope is renewed! It's absolutely amazing what 15 extra minutes of daylight can do for the spirit.

It's taken me 13 years to appreciate the subtle nuances of Ireland. I hope I discover more. It's nice to notice them when I return; nice to get back to friends whom, after all this time, I can consider "old" friends; lovely to return to book club. The other part of my life is back to the West, now...over the Shannon, over the mid-lands, over the Cliffs of Moher, across the Atlantic, and spread across the United States: Maine, Texas, Massachusetts, New York, Florida, Maryland, Virginia, Colorado, Washington, California, North Carolina, Toronto and so many other places, where my heart is held in trust, until I return.

Jet lag or not...I am very blessed.

Still....it's after 1:00 a.m., and I'd just love to be sleeping....

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