Irish On My Mind

My Mom was Irish and German, and she married my Dad who was German, but she favored her Irish roots and she passed that favoritism on to me! I love all things Irish! And especially at this time of year with St. Patrick's Day so near, it brings to mind my Irish roots, it brings to mind my Irish mother and it brings a great longing for her. My Mom was gone four years this past February, and don't listen to what people say, it doesn't really get easier, it's just that the abnormal becomes your normal. And you have days when memories tear your heart apart, and days when those same memories bring you much peace and joy. These few months are hard for me, my Mom went Home to God on February 12, and her birthday is March 25. For some reason this year her Anniversary was especially hard for me, and maybe that's because I thought it should be getting easier, I thought I should be feeling better, but I'm not, there's a void in my life that will never be filled. I have two friends that just lost their own Moms these past few months, and it's a shared sisterhood I don't wish on anyone. I think the hardest thing of all is facing the fact that you have nowhere to direct the love you have for you mother, it's bottled up inside you with no where to go, it makes your heart feel like it's going to burst. And I think that must be the hardest thing for anyone to deal with when you lose a close loved one. What do you do with all those feelings and all that love? There's no amount of grief counseling, or therapy, or volunteering, or 'keeping busy' that is going to help. Because the special love you have for each individual in your life can not be given to someone else. The love I have for my mother is very different than the love I have for my husband, you can't love your mother and your husband in the same way, nor my children and grandchildren, and it's a very different love from the love I have for extended family and friends, and vastly different from the love of neighbors and my fellow man. And for me, that is the pain of death, that is the pain of losing a loved one, more painful than the void that is left behind is the fact that there is no where to put that love.
Well, I did not set out to share that when first I sat to write this post, but my heart has a mind of it's own. What I meant to do was share with you some of the Irish things I am lucky enough to have in my home and some of the Irish things I love:

(The song Danny Boy was a favorite of my Mom's and I especially like the version I have playing here of Eric Clapton on the guitar.)

My little Irish nesting doll (she's actually made in Russia but she is labeled as 'Irish Lass').





My hand carved wooden Celtic Cross design (it's made from olive wood carved by an Irish artisan, and we picked this up at an outdoor Irish Fair in Connecticut).




A little harp that I picked up at a church sale for twenty-five cents!




A Belleek vase that was my Mom's.


A little Belleek Angel that belonged to my Mom (it's actually a bell), and a thimble made in Ireland that my sister-in-law picked up for me when she visited there, and a ceramic Irish angel pin that a friend gave to me one St. Patrick's Day, and two little pipes that were made in Ireland that my husband picked up at a church sale.



A tiny music box that I gave to my Mom when she was in the midst of Alzheimer's Disease. She still loved that song, and at the time she still remembered every word.




And here are a few things I'd be shopping for right now if my husband and I weren't following 'Dave Ramsey's Baby Steps To Financial Freedom' (his philosophy is "if you don't need it, you don't buy it"! He really takes the fun out of shopping!):
I love Fiesta dishes, and I especially love them in the color called Shamrock! Yes, I would really like to be serving corned beef and cabbage on these dishes!


And I know for sure that at $80.00 per plate (yes, I said per plate, not per place setting), I know for sure that these lovely Belleek dishes would not pass Dave Ramsey's approval:



And when we do finally achieve financial freedom, I hope to be able to one day visit Ireland and stay in one of the beautiful self-catering cottages they have over there:


And this year I will be celebrating St. Patrick's Day at Radio City Music Hall enjoying the Farewell Performance of Riverdance with my friend Barbara! (The tickets luckily were bought before we started Dave Ramsey's baby steps!)




And, finally, here is my favorite little Irish lad (well, he's part Irish anyway!):




And I want to take this opportunity to properly thank Morning T for my sunshine award! I did post about it before but I didn't express the gratitude I feel, I am so grateful to Morning T and I do so enjoy visiting her blog as she shares her life, her family, her shopping finds, her decorating ideas, and her wonderful tutorials! Thank you, T!

And I'm wishing you all a wonderful March!