An Interesting Discovery

I had no idea that Irish blood ran through my veins for many, many years. With the interests of youth to occupy my time, it really never crossed my mind. What did occupy my mind was the workings of my  family, as with all children, and especially my mother. My mother, my goodness, you should know what I mean. They are remarkable women who can be whatever and whoever they need to be at the "drop of a hat". Their primary reason for doing so is the care and protection of the children God has entrusted them with. So, without knowing my Mom was an Irish descendant, I sat many times, after she picked me up at school, and waited patiently for her to finish visiting with the many other mothers there. Sometimes we would stop at the store for a snack. My sister and I would choose our snacks, Mom would pay, we'd get in the car, and enjoy our snacks while Mom visited with the customers and employees in the store. Mom always went to the Beauty Parlor on Saturday. A "do" that would normally take a person only maybe 45 minutes from start to finish. Our Mom would be there at least 2 hours. We waited patiently.

I'm sure you understand that when you grow from a child accustomed to something, usually you don't know there is a different way of handling the same situation. So it was with us and this constant talk. It wasn't always gossip, although I suspect the Beauty Parlor time was MOSTLY gossip. Sometimes it was concern. Mom was always concerned with the problems of other people. There was never much actual physical assistance she could offer, but an ear, and a comforting word would suffice. And we would FINALLY move on to our next chore, adventure, or whatever, with the unconscious knowledge that there would be more time spent waiting for Mama to finish her visiting.

Telephones...for the first few years of my life, there was no phone. But when the destruction of divorce came knocking, so did the telephone man. We moved out from my Daddy's country home and into a small apartment in town. We got a phone. My Mom is in her 70's now, she's had a  phone ever since. And a good thing, too. I don't think she could have lived without one. Anyway, she was a constant on that thing. We were accustomed by this time to sharing our Mom with the world. (She never met a stranger.) We were conveniently pre-teen by this time. 

Mom also enjoyed a large family with plenty(9) sisters, most of whom had phones, too. So it was a way to stay in touch, and let me tell you, this family of so many Irish people talked, and talked and talked.

This is the story of their stories. I plan to share with you the ups and downs of the Irish Mile. First hand accounts of a child of an Irish descendant with many relatives who never go the shortcut, they always take the Irish Mile. 

I hope you enjoy the poem.