Forward Planning for Looking Back on Lockdown

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, ...

A Ballad for my Sixth Class Girl (I promise it’s not actually a ballad)

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 ...

Fifteen Years Ago Today When it Rained

It's October 13th as I write this, and I'm thinking about what I was doing this time fifteen years ago. Checking the weather forecast (still rain). Checking the dress (still there). Checking the mass booklets (still not done). A last lunch with my first (and hopefully last) husband-to-be. The mood? Surreal. A little nervous. Very excited. And ...