"Have you near heard of Clearasil?" I was fourteen, walking across a green near my house, when a group of guys around my own age shouted this sage skincare advice at me. I had heard of Clearasil. I had tried Clearasil. But while it was a perfectly fine facial wash, it didn't do anything to combat acne. The ...
Because I am a therapist Because I am a referee Because I am (apparently) a "fun sponge" Because I am a pack-mule Because I am a (sub-standard) chef Because I am a personal shopper (who gets it wrong) Because I am a shoulder to cry on Because I am the holder of the stationary Because I am a (very under-qualified) medical consultant Because I am a listener ...
Lockdown ate our summer. It's a small thing in the bigger scheme; an it-is-what-it-is kind of thing. But still. I spent July worrying that the schools might not open in September and that we'd be back to homeschooling, then by the time it was announced that schools would open, and we could finally relax and ...
We've holidayed in Kenmare three times since 2009, and there are two things I know for sure: 1. We haven't seen everything yet 2. We'll be back The jewel in the crown of the three trips was local knowledge (thank you Aoife, Karen, and Maggie!) - tips on where to eat and where to go from Kenmare inhabitants ...
German lessons. Typing programs. PE classes. I look back now on the lists I put together in March, the things I thought would fill my kids’ days, and I shake my head. Not in a mean way, I’m just bemused at my early-lockdown-self, the one who thought the kids would spend their time in productive pursuits. In ...
One of my earliest childhood memories is of the time my mother went to see the Pope in the Phoenix Park, and I stayed home with my dad. My dad, not a seasoned cook, heated up tinned Campbells meatballs for lunch. He split the can between us, pouring the delicious juicy gravy-covered meatballs into two bowls, ...
"The weird thing about lockdown is how we all got used to it so quickly," said my daughter, as we went for our regulation exercise the other night. "Humans are very adaptable, I suppose." And in one way she's right - we're all instinctively veering out and steering clear and wiping down and washing washing washing. ...
Four years old. Just over three feet high. In a uniform that was ludicrously long. Tiny then, even tinier in hindsight, and in the pictures I can still find on my phone. The pictures I was going to use for the “First Day Last Day” post, like the ones I saw on Facebook last June. First ...
It's a year this week since we got the keys to our house and a year since we began the process of giving my dad back his house, after four months living with him. And every day of lockdown, I give quiet (and out loud) thanks that we are here and not still there, invading my ...
My kids have been asked to keep journals as part of their work from home packs. I keep telling them they should - that they are living through history, and they keep telling me they have nothing to write, because they do the same thing every day. Fair point. But it made me think. And it ...