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| Rock of Cashel |
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| St Mary's Cathedral |
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| Thatched roof house in Adare |
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| The Gap of Dunloe |
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| Knock Shrine |
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| City of Cobh and St Colman's Church |
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| Kylemore Abbey |
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| Dublin |
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| Cliffs of Moher |
Sun setting In Cuzco, Peru
August 14, 2011
Remembering Ireland
August 13, 2011
Finding Answers in the Emerald Isle
It all started in January...
I had had a rough year last year and needed to shake things up a bit. I needed to remember how to enjoy life again as I was losing sight of that. Or at least it seemed that way. I needed to change things up. Maureen always told me that a change of scenery helps so I looked into taking a trip to anywhere but here. I google'd "single", "Female" and "travel" and found several websites, one of which was a Catholic dating site. What did I have to lose?
A woman I'd never met or even heard of named Tracy was planning an organized group trip for single Catholic adults to Ireland. While it was never on my bucket list, something about this trip appealed to me. Tracy and I traded numerous Emails over the course of a week, mostly her answering my questions and quelling my doubts/fears. By February 1, I took that first step and sent in a payment. I had committed to it and was going to Ireland in July.
Time flies, that is true but even more so when a big deal like this is on the horizon. 5 months passed in a blink and before I knew it, I was packing to leave. Loose ends were tied at work and home and after my usual travel-anxiety filled sleepless night, I was on a plane heading east. Way east.
When I landed in Dublin, I expected to see a group of people waiting for me as I exited the terminal. No one was there. Apparently, all international flights flew into terminal 2 except mine. I was in T1.
Thankfully, I had Tracy's phone # with me and called her. Otherwise, I might still be in T1 waiting for someone to pick me up. I found them waiting and breathed a sigh of relief. I had arrived.
The days that ensued were a blur of places and faces. We lived on a tour bus with a driver named Con, traveling from place to place, eating and sleeping on the bus = our new home. I don't remember how many hotels we slept in but there was a new one just about every day. I believe we touched 9 counties in 10 days or maybe it was 10 counties in 9 days. Again, its all a blur. Even now that I've had time to sit back and remember, I don't. All I can say is we saw some amazing things and beautiful places.
When I am asked what I liked best about my trip, the answer is always the people. The Irish people were great but the tour people were better. Much of our time was spent getting to know each other and laughing about everything or nothing at all. I loved that we were able to spend time with each other, forming friendships that will last a lifetime. While we started out knowing so little about each person, there was a sense of familiarity and comfort as we shared our first mass together. It was a bonding denominator for me.
The most remarkable thing about my trip is that it was the answer to my prayers. During the darkest times of last year, I called out to God, desperate to be heard, angry and confused. He had taken Maureen and Missy and I felt so incredibly alone. "Do you need to take everything I love to know that I love you first?" I can't count the number of times I cried out that statement, as if I were being punished for loving at all. "Fine! Your will, not mine!", I'd reply begrudgingly. As His love and mercy softened my heart, I began to understand that He needed to call Maureen and Missy home. It is only recently that I realize He did this so that I would be free to do other things, like go to Ireland. I would never have gone if they were still in my life. And I would have missed out on meeting so many amazing, incredible, beautiful, familiar, similar people. I lost my best friends but in succumbing to God's will, I gained 37 new ones. He saw my need and grew my family. Wow.
Yet again, I am humbled by His mercy, wisdom and knowledge that my pain would pass and better days were ahead. He knew I would laugh again and find joy in my days. He knew what needed to be done in order to unfold His plan for my life. Whether its through a text message, Email or an IM from my new friends, I am reminded that God is faithful and true. And I am never alone. Praise God!
I had had a rough year last year and needed to shake things up a bit. I needed to remember how to enjoy life again as I was losing sight of that. Or at least it seemed that way. I needed to change things up. Maureen always told me that a change of scenery helps so I looked into taking a trip to anywhere but here. I google'd "single", "Female" and "travel" and found several websites, one of which was a Catholic dating site. What did I have to lose?
A woman I'd never met or even heard of named Tracy was planning an organized group trip for single Catholic adults to Ireland. While it was never on my bucket list, something about this trip appealed to me. Tracy and I traded numerous Emails over the course of a week, mostly her answering my questions and quelling my doubts/fears. By February 1, I took that first step and sent in a payment. I had committed to it and was going to Ireland in July.
Time flies, that is true but even more so when a big deal like this is on the horizon. 5 months passed in a blink and before I knew it, I was packing to leave. Loose ends were tied at work and home and after my usual travel-anxiety filled sleepless night, I was on a plane heading east. Way east.
When I landed in Dublin, I expected to see a group of people waiting for me as I exited the terminal. No one was there. Apparently, all international flights flew into terminal 2 except mine. I was in T1.
Thankfully, I had Tracy's phone # with me and called her. Otherwise, I might still be in T1 waiting for someone to pick me up. I found them waiting and breathed a sigh of relief. I had arrived.
The days that ensued were a blur of places and faces. We lived on a tour bus with a driver named Con, traveling from place to place, eating and sleeping on the bus = our new home. I don't remember how many hotels we slept in but there was a new one just about every day. I believe we touched 9 counties in 10 days or maybe it was 10 counties in 9 days. Again, its all a blur. Even now that I've had time to sit back and remember, I don't. All I can say is we saw some amazing things and beautiful places.
When I am asked what I liked best about my trip, the answer is always the people. The Irish people were great but the tour people were better. Much of our time was spent getting to know each other and laughing about everything or nothing at all. I loved that we were able to spend time with each other, forming friendships that will last a lifetime. While we started out knowing so little about each person, there was a sense of familiarity and comfort as we shared our first mass together. It was a bonding denominator for me.
The most remarkable thing about my trip is that it was the answer to my prayers. During the darkest times of last year, I called out to God, desperate to be heard, angry and confused. He had taken Maureen and Missy and I felt so incredibly alone. "Do you need to take everything I love to know that I love you first?" I can't count the number of times I cried out that statement, as if I were being punished for loving at all. "Fine! Your will, not mine!", I'd reply begrudgingly. As His love and mercy softened my heart, I began to understand that He needed to call Maureen and Missy home. It is only recently that I realize He did this so that I would be free to do other things, like go to Ireland. I would never have gone if they were still in my life. And I would have missed out on meeting so many amazing, incredible, beautiful, familiar, similar people. I lost my best friends but in succumbing to God's will, I gained 37 new ones. He saw my need and grew my family. Wow.
Yet again, I am humbled by His mercy, wisdom and knowledge that my pain would pass and better days were ahead. He knew I would laugh again and find joy in my days. He knew what needed to be done in order to unfold His plan for my life. Whether its through a text message, Email or an IM from my new friends, I am reminded that God is faithful and true. And I am never alone. Praise God!
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