Saturday, March 17, 2012

St. Patricks Day In Dublin, Ireland

Arrived back to Dublin this afternoon and the city is abuzz with St. Patrick's Day parades and parties.  I met some really fun people and was having a good time as I made my way home.  When I got home Gareth was at work, but I was happily greeted at the door by our cat who didn't even wait for me to sit my bag down before jumping up into my arms and nuzzling my neck.  

I'm fighting off a bit of a sore throat and felt a bit sweaty, so I decided to head straight to the bathroom.  I stripped off my clothes, gargled with some mouthwash, popped a couple cold pills and took a long hot shower.  After brushing my teeth and putting on a pair of black shorts and my lucky green Ireland rugby shirt I'm now plopped on the couch eating a snack and watching the Ireland-England rugby game. 


Gareth will be getting home in another hour and we'll be going out tonight to meet some friends for dinner and a few drinks before heading off to a few of our friends parties.  Wishing everyone a Happy St. Patrick's day.  It's the one day of the year when everyone is a little bit Irish.

Wednesday, March 7, 2012

My Irish Evening


It's early morning now, most of Ireland is fast asleep.  I would be too if I didn't have to get to the ship this morning.  Our first voyage of the season is upon us.  Lots of hard work went into getting the ship ready and now the real hard work begins.  I was ready to do this for weeks, but now that I sit here in this quiet dark house with Gareth and our cat sleeping it's hard to leave. 


Earlier tonight we made a nice steak dinner together and shared lots of laughs and joyful playing around with each other.  We especially laughed when we went to bring the food to the table and found our cat already sitting in one of the chairs patiently waiting for his piece of steak.  When Gareth questioned what are you doing at the table, he boldly let out a loud meow of defiance and stiffened his feet in his chair while licking his lips.  Since we were shown who was the actual master of the house, we quickly cut him some steak and the three of us had a nice dinner together.  We joked that we were a happy little family and that the cat, our son, got my looks and attitude, but has Gareth's hairiness and appetite.     

After eating the cat took to his chair to clean himself before settling in for a nap as Gareth and I washed and dried the dishes together.  The thought of my leaving was not far from our thoughts and our conversation turned from laughter and fun to confirming if I had this or that packed.  I told him I had everything I needed.  I reminded him to pay this bill or do this errand and he replied he had it all taken care of. 


After the dishes we tried to watch a few programs, but neither of us were really focusing on what was happening.  So we turned it off and put some music on and just sat on the couch as I leaned back onto his chest and across his lap.  We sat silent except for the noise of the music, letting our fingers intertwine.  Our wedding rings, symbols of our commitment to each other, glistened in the light of the candles. 


I laid my head on his chest and could feel the warmth of his body as I listened to the sound of his heartbeat and each breath he took.  At that moment I would have given up everything if he had asked me to stay and never leave his embrace.  But that's not how life is and eventually the night ticked away until I am where I am now, sitting here in the quiet darkness of the living room already missing my family.  

When daylight comes and the ship is out at sea, I'll be doing better.  But for now I need to go wake up Gareth to drive me to the pier.  I'll sit on the edge of the bed and watch him sleepily get dressed.  His hair will be tosseled and out of place, which it usually is even five minutes after he combs it.  He'll pull on his pants and a sweater and then sit on the edge of the bed and fumble with getting his socks and shoes on.  He always does when he leaves in the middle of the night when called for work or to take me off on a journey. 


All my stuff is already on board, so I'll just grab my cat and wrap him in a blanket as Gareth puts his coat on.  We'll drive to the pier listening to the early morning talk radio programs, avoiding any music where a sad song could make things harder to say goodbye.  We'll sit in the car at the dock for a few minutes kissing and leaning into each other.  The cat will want to snuggle in with us and we'll do a group kiss.  After a moment he'll hold the cat as I get out of the car and I tell the two men in my life how much I love them one last time before I shut the door.


The cold of the morning will start to chill my body as I walk to the ship and Gareth turns the car around and they head back to the quiet darkness of our home.  Knowing Gareth, he'll give the cat his breakfast and then come and sit in this same chair I'm sitting in now.  He'll find the card I left him and he'll read it and smile.  He'll pull a blanket over himself as the cat comes to curl up on his lap.   Before long the darkness of the night will give way to the dawn.  Ireland will start to stir and awake to a new day.  I'll be miles away by the time Gareth sees his first patient and the cat curls up for his afternoon nap and we'll begin to count the days until we're back together again. 


Irish and French Draw 17-17








Thursday, March 1, 2012

Almost Time To Say Goodbye

Another season at sea is about to begin.  It's going to be a busy time, but I'm ready to get back out to the open waters.  I'm thinking about stopping the blog or maybe changing the blog.  I'd like to do one that shows the side of my life from being out on the ship and the projects we do and the the things I experience but I'm afraid that would get really boring.  I'm not sure what I will do yet with the blog.  My personal life has become pretty routine and its hard to write about it right now so I give you some eye candy to look at as a thank you for stopping by. 

Ireland is close to obtaining a new immigration visa for work with the USA and Gareth has talked of us moving to the states and probably Maryland since I could easily get work on a ship and he can find work at a hospital.  But then he also still talks about going someplace he feels he can make a difference before he gets old.  I'm happy right here where we are, but I know he has the need to wonder off and do things so who knows what he has going on in his mind right now. 


Well, it's another night shift on the ship tonight getting things prepared.  I'm going to go eat some spaghetti and meatballs in the mess hall before I start my work. Go ahead, be thrilled.

Irish Polar Bears

  How cute is this face!

Scientist have discovered DNA analysis that suggests all of today’s polar bears can trace their maternal ancestry to a female brown bear in Ireland. Polar bears interbred with brown bears in or near Ireland between 20,000 and 50,000 years ago.  

Simon Katich - Aussie Cricket






Gareth and a friend of his are always talking and watching Cricket.  I'm more of a contact sport type of person.  Which explains why I get annoyed when I see a soccer player flop all over the field when someone makes slight contact with them.  We had a few drinks with some friends at lunch today and the subject turned to sports and when Cricket was brought up I didn't know anything going on in that world.  So I figured I really need to start learning more about the game so I can partake in conversations and also go to matches with Gareth where I'm not asking dumb questions.  Plus, if there are more Cricket players as handsome as this guy and Luke Pomersbach from my July 2009 post, it could become interesting.