Last Ireland Post

Well, our time is nearly up. The computer has to come apart tonight, so this will be my last post from Ireland. As expected, the time went very quickly. This was a great experience and I'm SO thankful to Trish and Soft Star for giving me the support to come. I'm a pretty lucky girl!

Kahlil's last day at the creche was today. The kids were very sweet and made him a card and an Irish flag. I'm sure the teachers gave a lot of help with making the card :-)

Today was windy, but very nice out. I saw several pairs of shorts walking around town today. There are trees in full bloom, birds sings, sun shinning and lots of daffodils. I'm sad I wont get to see Dublin in full spring, but I'm looking forward to getting back to my own yard before spring really sets in.

We had a great time here, but I think the Ireland we experienced was different from that of our 'single' friends that were here before kids. We didn't partake of the night life as much as we would have a few years ago... of course that could be as much because we are in our mid-thirties as it is we are parents. Either way, we still had a few nights out and lots of fun.

As for having kids here... the Irish are very accommodating for children. Most restaurants offered to make a side dish, mash potatoes and gravy or cooked veggies, for Kahlil free of charge. And they were generally taken with his "gorgeous brown eyes". That seems so strange to me, having grown up around mostly brown eyes.

We got recommendations to live in Dublin and out close to HP. We decided to live in the city and I'm very happy we did. Being here in the city center allowed Kahlil and I to roam around during the day. There were lots of options when I was looking for childcare and I could walk to every thing we needed. Of course we didn't get a chance to connect with many of the locals since we lived in a part of town where most people just visit or work, even the Irish. But Kahlil did charm the receptionists at the architect firm in our building.

We saw all the main things I wanted to visit while here. I do wish we had made it out to one of the fishing towns and more time exploring the Wicklow Mountains. Oh well, now we have something left for next time! I am VERY bummed we didn't get a chance to meet up with U2; our schedules just didn't allow it this time ;-)

I think that's it.

Cheers Ireland!

Corvallis... see you soon!