Still I Am Not Tired

I love New Years Eve!

It’s always been my favorite Holiday.  

In the past, I thought it was the “starting over” that I liked so much. Many times it was about losing a few pounds, getting a new haircut or perhaps finally reading the book that has patiently waited for me to turn its pages.  

This year for me, is different. As another December comes to a close, I’m asking myself a few more questions. The thought that seems to be foremost in my mind is, what really, am I here to do?   

2014 was a year of reunions; one of family and another of High School friends and acquaintances. For me I always come away from family reunions with a renewed sense of who I am.  

I am grateful for the McGinn, the McGrath and the Brozovich influence that has run through my veins all of this time. Because of who I am, I have so much more to do, so many places to go, books to write, people to meet and children to teach all that I have been blessed to learn.

It’s almost 2015 and still I am not tired.

Happy New Year to all!

Grateful For Who I Am

Today I am thankful for the McGinn, the McGrath and the Brozovich blood that has run through my veins all of these years. 
On this Thanksgiving Day, I am grateful for who I am.

A New Favorite Book

I came across the loveliest little book while browsing in Horan’s Health Food Store in Killarney.

“Mind Over Mountains” by Susan Fitzgerald  

Although a small book, about 80 pages in all, this little gem is packed with short, simple suggestions on how to find your inner joy

 There was so much I liked about the book as I skimmed through. There was a section on energy; the energy we put out into the world as well as that of the folks we are in contact with.

 I especially enjoyed when Susan proposed that we check in with our compasses rather than our clocks. We need to stand back every once in a while, she says and see where we are going, rather than how many activities we can pack into a day or a week.

She offers thoughts on how to de-clutter,

how to tell if we need to detox,

the benefits of eating soup ~ and soup recipes!

 I don’t want to give away everything that’s in the book but I’ll tell you this. I bought it and after reading it through to the end, it sits on my bedside table. Every once in a while I just open to any page and am reminded that there are many different ways to Be in this world.

O.K. let me give you just one more pearl from the book~

 One of the loveliest messages in Mind Over Mountains is that we all have a dream. How wonderful it would be, Susan says if we wore that dream on our face, like little children do.

 

Imagine going through life with that glow of knowing we have a dream and how~ by checking in from time to time with our mind, body and spirit, we too can find inner joy and make that dream come true.

 Susan Fitzgerald lives in Killarney Ireland. She is a wellbeing coach and is certified as a health and fitness trainer. Her book is available at Eason’s Killarney, or by contacting her directly at innerjoy40@gmail.com

 I Love Love Love this book!

Going To Killarney Town One Day

So Grandma I'll wait patiently
until I hear you say,
I've grown a bit, let's pack our clothes
for we are on our way.
From "Killarney Town" From Sweet Tomatoes~Poetry For Children

Mission Statement

My Mission Statement

To leave a rich legacy of Poetry~

Memories of love and friendship for my family,

through my writing and time spent with them.

 

 

 

 

Fall In Love With Poetry

Seasons

In each and every one of us

there lives a magic place,

a secret meant to share with all

to wear upon our face.

 

The reason I know of what I write

I’ll tell you since you ask,

it’s in my soul, a part of me

I brought it from the past.

It’s flutes and bagpipes~ Shamrocks too
the forty shades of green,
awakening to the Seagull’s cry

an evening by the sea.

My wings they glimmer as they lift

to depart from a time now gone~

soaring on a virgin path

to live with purpose and song.

Memories From Home ~ In Ireland

One evening while I was in Ireland, Emily and I were on our way over to the church just around the corner from Murphy’s. We were going to attend a recital of sorts put on by the Kerry Girls School of Music, but we stopped for dinner first. 

We were both wanting lamb and as we were walking over to the church we came across The Flesk Restaurant. We went in and was seated near a window where we could watch people hustle by in the pouring rain. On the one wall were beautiful scenes of Killarney’s mountains and lakes, complements of local artist Paul Downey.  

The waitresses were very attentive; fresh bread and water, we ordered a glass of wine and get this, Pinot Noir was one of the house wines. With lamb and mashed potatoes on the menu, how could things get any better?

 Emily noticed on another wall behind us, plates, like license plates that said American Legion on them. They were from different states, AZ. N.J. MA. Etc. When the waitress came back over, I asked her about them.  

 She very enthusiastically told us about Dermot O’Leary, the owner of the restaurant how he had served in Vietnam in the late ‘60’s, and how he wanted to have an “Irish Post” here in Ireland.

 I don’t know if it was the Pinot, the pouring rain out the window or maybe just the American Legion plates, but I had to fight back tears as I thought of my brother Tim who had also served in Vietnam in the late ‘60’s and passed away just two years ago now from Lymphoma.

 I’ve attached a little bit from the internet that I found about Dermot and his restaurant. 

One major event each year, not surprisingly, is St. Patrick’s Day. Legionnaires from across Ireland gather in Killarney and carry the colours through the city, typically winding their way to the Flesk Restaurant, home of Father Francis Duffy American Legion Post IR-02. “The reception we get in Killarney is unbelievable,” Kane says. “American visitors want to get out and walk with us.”

The Flesk is not an ordinary Irish eatery. Its walls are strikingly similar to many U.S.‑based American Legion posts: they are adorned with license plates bearing the names, towns and numbers of other Legion posts around the world. U.S. tourists who happen upon the Flesk are astonished to find The American Legion’s emblem hanging on the wall along with all the license plates.

“They can’t get over it,” says Flesk owner Dermot O’Leary, a Vietnam War veteran and Legionnaire who was drafted into the U.S. Army after he went to New York looking for work in the early 1960s. “It happens all the time. They can’t get over the fact they have found an American Legion post in Ireland.”

 His restaurant is named after the beautiful Flesk River, that can be seen from Muckross Road. I just happened to have taken a picture of it last year when I was walking along Muckross to the Abbey. Now it’s nice to know its name and have some history.
 Dermot O’Leary passed away last year.