We were traveling out this way in Ireland to meet some distant cousins. My father's grandmother Mary came over to Ireland sometime in the late 1800's when she was somewhere around 18. Her family name was Roddy, and they are related to the Geever's who still live on the same land she did when she was young. Joe had emailed us directions on how to get to the house, and amazingly, even without GPS past the town center, we actually made it right to the house!
Of course we arrived slightly unannounced, and no one was home yet! We waited outside, and Theresa showed up with their son Jeremy not long after. Fairly soon the family began to pour in to meet us! Ruthie arrived and had some great old photos online. And we sat and chatted over tea and apple pie! Nanna and John were next, and brought some more old family photos and a letter from Mary Roddy's father, written to Mary after she had arrived in the USA.
Mary Geever and her girls arrived, and Joe came in not long after them, having been out helping a friend put up signs advertising his summer camp. We got a quick photo with everyone before Nanna & John had to head out, though Theresa is missing since she took the photo, and the kids were inside playing.
Not long after, Joe offered to take us for a walk while Theresa went to get Hannah. There was a very large "block" that we could walk and see some of the history of the area. Immediately Eric took off as the pied piper of the children, and Joe told me I could leave Eric while we went to the B&B tonight! No matter where he goes, he's always great entertainment for the kids :)
Along the way, we met a donkey who was super friendly despite the little barbed wire that may have been meant to keep children out more than the donkey in! But it didnt stop us :)
The girls and I picked flowers as we strolled along, and I marveled at all of the little things - beautiful scenes around us, cows in the pasteurs, friendly dogs that came to greet us.
And Joe was also clearly the other entertainer, getting the kids into long-grass sword fights and teaching all of us how to make reed viking ships! He jumped the fence to grab us the reeds, and even climbed down some slippery wet rocks to help put the viking boats into the little stream! It was such a blast, I couldn't help but think every kid should have a childhood like this. Where entertainment can be found in every little thing on the side of the road!
And true to form, just as we set our boats sailing, the skies opened up and it began to pour. We sought shelter under a nearby tree, and Eric decided to act as a rainshield for catherine!
A few of the photos are a little blurry as I didnt have time to adjust for the lighting in the rain, but I figured they were cute! The craziest thing is looking at Catherine in some of these photos, she looks a lot like I did in a lot of my younger photos! As it continued to Pour, Theresa and Hannah came zooming up to save us from the rain! They packed Joe & the kids into the car, and the rest of us decided to tough it out and walk back as the rain was beginning to let up a bit. As we walked back, some cows dashed the fence we were walking towards and proceeded to stare at us very oddly!
I found out later that cows with tags in their ears are "new" cows. Just after we met these guys, it began to pour again, and we raced for another tree, but not before my hair & jeans were soaked! Joe came flying up to save us, and the five of us somehow squished into the little car, glad to be free of the rain, even if we were sardines! Mary held tight to Catherine's leaf & large walking stick, as she knew she would hear about it later if she didnt! Apparently Catherine is a big nature collector :)
When we returned, I changed my jeans, and Theresa had a wonderful beef chili and rice ready for us. Just the perfect thing to warm us up after the downpours! We talked over many subjects, and it honestly felt like we had been family forever, save for the swapping of understanding of cultural differences - tipping in the different countries, and what is/isnt customary. Mary had brought over a chocolate cake and they made some fresh whipped cream and of course tea!
As it got late, Mary offered to lead us to the road the B&B was on, and called the B&B to double check directions. We said our goodbyes, all of us wishing we could stay longer, and Mary drove us out towards Swinford. We ended up turning a road too early, and she caught up with us and followed us all the way until the point we turned around on a little dead end nearby! We finally made it to the place, and thankfully the hosts were still up to show us to our rooms, we felt bad coming in so late, but she was quick & kind and asked us when we would like breakfast. The rooms are by far the largest yet, though the house is big and on more land than the last two.
It was an amazing day, and it was wonderful to meet the Geever family and learn a bit about the history. It was also a bit humbling in that all of them reminded me what kind of family I want our kids to grow up in. I want to remember to be the fun parents, the ones that can use imagination to turn a leaf into a viking ship, the ones that know when the family is out in a downpour and rush to save them, knowing exactly where they would be, the kind of parent that stops to pet a donkey or a dog with their child, or lets them climb rock walls or play on the side of a back road. I see how many kids in the US are raised, and between the over-protectiveness, the over-focus, and the over-seriousness, kids barely have time to be kids. These kids were great kids, Jeremy was the most polite and well spoken kid I have met in quite some time! And all of the girls were delights, both in their fun & smiles, and willingness to hang around with these american strangers! And that all of this Irish family would come together to see and welcome us at very little notice, and with seemingly little effort, just made it feel like home. There is something about Ireland that probably will just always feel like home. We all agreed that this was the favorite part of our trip, and that it would be very very difficult to top the Irish Hospitality, even as we are surrounded by such beauty and wonder. Many thanks to all of the Geever family for making this a wonderful day!
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