Sometimes, just sometimes, I get things right! We’re in the middle of tourist season here, our beautiful wild countryside has been invaded by idiots who neither understand the country code (closing gates after you), how to drive on country roads (not at 30km per hour everywhere), nor how to dispose of rubbish correctly (not out the car window nor leave it on the beach after you, my personal biggest pet peeve). I work as a chef during the season, we’ve had a heatwave us Irish folk are incapable of dealing with, never mind working in a kitchen when it’s so hot no-one wants to cook at home 😩.
Anyway, my life had become work, home, recover and repeat for quite a few weeks so I hatched a plan to break the cycle somewhat today. We left our phones in the glove compartment of the car, and off we went touring around the beautiful peninsula we live in for the day, just me and my teen. We stopped and walked, we talked about how some flora was thriving in the extreme temperatures and others not so much with the lack of the usually abundant water supply. For some reason the honeysuckle has absolutely thrived this year and the smell hits you from around a corner before you can even see it! And the meadowsweet, well it’s so particularly pungent it would take your breath away. We took our time and ambled pathways we haven’t done on foot (usually on horseback), and, for once, we just talked. No photos, no Instagram, just us and a memory made.
My not so little teen has an incredible mind. She can switch from the dramas of her teenage life to the intricacies the 1916 rising in a nanosecond and yet the two seem inextricably linked somehow!!! We jotted down notes on old ruins and buildings we found along the way to “ask granny about”, and we stood on cliff edges and listened to that glorious low rumbling sound of the sea despite the incredible calmness of it today. We randomly stopped for coffees and treats just because we could. We ate breakfast, lunch and dinner out and were still hungry when we got home!!! Sometimes we had a serious dose of the giggles, and other times we just sat and took it all in, her arm through mine, a smile on her face and her head on my shoulder.
My incredible teen is just 14-years-old. She had quite a bad accident just three short weeks ago and was stood on (head and body) by her horse in a total freak accident that was no-one’s fault. Then last week we buried my aunt who died suddenly (not covid-related at all). We also visited her great-grandmother the same day who will be 89 in November.
My incredible teen, who can stay up half the night chatting to friends came and gave me an enormous hug just before I started writing this to say goodnight. I was stunned for two reasons: she’s autistic and doesn’t do hugs; and, she’s never in bed before me 🤣🤣🤣.
Some people are grateful for wealth, some for a foreign holiday, some for materialistic things, others for a gift or a thoughtful gesture. My gorgeous girl said “goodnight mom, thanks for taking me to smell the honeysuckle today”. I think I won at life today 🥰.
