Irish Roots

Happy St. Patrick's Day! Today I am thinking about what it means to be Irish. First off, I am from a large Irish Family. My Mother was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland. She came to Canada in 1967 and settled here to raise her own family. I have been to Ireland on many occasions for holidays. It is interesting that everytime I travel back to where my family came from I meet cousins that I have never met before. If you knew me well you would know that I am proud to be Irish. My Mum is from a family of 12 children. All of whom are still living in Ireland. After my Grandfather passed away, my Mum was wanting to go back to Ireland to live, so she and my father packed up and moved in 1999, on March 5th. I remember saying good bye while holding my one year old son Ryan in my arms wondering what this truly meant.

They moved into My Granda's home, and made it their own. I was fortunate to have brought my own two sons there for a few visits. I love just being able to pop in to a relative's home for a visit, or go for a walk into town, no car needed. The door is always open and you never need an appointment to visit like here in Canada. I love the lifestyle, milk is still delivered to the door, you visit the bakery for fresh baps and go to the butcher for your meat. It is a very friendly place where everyone says hello! I try to visit not only my Aunts and Uncles, but my cousins and their children. I love to travel around all of Ireland and soak in the rich history that is our homeland. I am the first ever relative from my Granny and Granda's immediate family that was not born in Ireland. So my roots are deep. I visit the graves of my relatives, and the places where my Mum grew up and went to school. My parents spend 6 months here in Canada and the other times in Ireland. They have been very fortunate to have been able to spend time with Family on both sides, but there will come a time when their health will not let them do so. This is the part that scares me, will I ever go back to see my huge Family or is this it. The last visit was three years ago when I went for one week by myself to visit my Mum. We had a fantastic week and I have never been able to do that before with out the kids. I still want to visit to keep the history alive for my Children. My Sons Ryan (17) and Kieran (13) love visiting and exploring the Emerald Isle. Right now I am putting together our Family history and writing stories that I have been told to keep the memories alive so I may pass those down to my grandchildren some day. So every St. Patrick's day I make an effort to prepare an Irish meal and decorate the house. It is a reminder to slow down, enjoy Family and reflect on where we came from, the beautiful green Island that is Ireland!