This is our 100th blog posting. It has only been a very short time since we started the blog and the move back home to Ireland but oh boy how much has happened and changed in our lives since that first post on 16th January 2010. Dallas and USA now seems like a place we lived so long ago and being back in Ireland is getting a bit like we never left in the first place. The girls have been truly amazing with all the change and disruptions to their lives and to all the people who said to us that they would be grand with all of it well you were all right. Kids are definitely way more resilient, patient and tougher than us over protective parents give them credit for. Anna and Sarah went into a new school that teaches and speaks in Irish (not English) with new teachers, class mates and were the only new kids that started in their classes this year and they seemed to enjoy every minute of it. The Irish (language) was a bit of a shock to their systems in the first few weeks but are now conversing in and understanding it quite well. In fact the use of the Irish language is starting to become common place in our house for general conversation.
The lovely town we are living in continues to charm and surprise us as we get to know the place and the people better. It seems to be a very happy place with everyone in good humour and spirits all the time. My youngest sister Clodagh likes comparing Kinsale to the town in Hot Fuzz!
There are things about USA and Dallas that we miss. Most of all we miss all the great friends we made there. Gwen says she misses her gas guzzling V8 car and I guess I miss living in my own house. We are renting here in Kinsale and for some reason I never feel completely at home in a house that belongs to someone else. We are also living in a half unpacked state as moving out after 6 or 12 months to another home in the town is very likely. I’ll also miss my sister Maria and brother-in-law Charlie who live in Connecticut visiting us at Christmas time in Dallas.
So what is bugging us about being back in Ireland? Not much really. The weather has been fantastic but in a month or two may be craving a trip to somewhere sunny and warm. Some of the administrative aspects of Ireland drive us nuts and it seems like absolutely nothing will work or happen first time as there is always an issue and always due to poor information or a mistake. Whether this has to do with dealing with the banks, taxes, social welfare office, driving license people, etc… they are all generally very nice and friendly people but at the same time mostly incompetent! (with the exception of John at the AIB in Kinsale!).
The other thing that I for one am struggling to get over is adjusting to a new way to plan make meals. In Dallas you could make a decision on what to have for dinner, quickly stop by Wholefoods to pick up everything and cook a exactly what you wanted. Here it is a little different as you really cook what the store has to sell. I am sure this would be very different if we lived in Dublin or Cork city but in a small town you do not have anywhere near the same selection or choice. This of course is probably a good thing as you are eating fresher and more seasonal produce and it is also good for the waistline as I have dropped a good few pounds since leaving America.
When reading back on earlier posting in the blog we talked about moving to West Cork so that we would have quieter, slower paced and simpler lives from the ones we were living in the States. Well most of this is happened except for slower paced. Between work, school, after school activities, visitors, trips, kids birthday parties, homework, shopping, cooking, etc…. it is all hectic. Our days are long, full and very busy, we watch only a tiny fraction of the TV we watched in USA and go to bed very tired.
So do we have any regrets? Absolutely not. Do we have any regrets staying abroad so long? Absolutely not. We firmly believe the timing of our return to our homeland was perfect. The girls were young enough and the adults old (mature) enough to do this at this stage in our lives. It has been great and so glad we kept this diary of our progress as reading back on the old posts reminds us of what a brilliant and exciting year we had. Thanks to everyone for reading and keep the messages coming, we love hearing from you.
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| Cailíní na hÉireann |
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| Future member of The Corrs |
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| Rice Krispie bun making |
