On Killarney

Miracle Maddie

Maddie Girl’s been doing a lot of resting and getting back into the swing of therapy. She started some good tracking at therapy, but had moments of agitation. That could be a result of the stem cells “kicking in.” Luckily those episodes didn’t last very long and she calmed down. During her occupational therapy, she demonstrated the Hands Supporting reflex, which influences the development of vision and perception, hand-eye coordination, and begins the development of gross motor skills of the hands. She’s still working hard and fighting to be here.

She’s a miracle. We just passed the one-year anniversary of her accident. I can’t express how monumental that is. I could be visiting a grave and even though I want Maddie back, I’m not sad every single day like I used to be. I’m more hopeful than anything else, if not a little impatient. It’s insane to consider how much my life has changed over the last 365 days.

Ireland

Last weekend, I visited Killarney with my housemates. Katie, Guillaume, and I took the bus from campus to Killarney and walked to Ali’s house. She was housesitting for her parents and was kind enough to invite us along. We didn’t do much that first night as we were wiped from travelling.

But Saturday was awesome.

We had a delicious brunch at The Shire, and then we walked around town, and then entered the national park. It was absolutely breathtaking. I don’t know how to impress upon you the majesty of the beauty of Ireland. I don’t know if the right words exist. I am constantly overwhelmed by what I’m seeing. And my housemates are goofy.

Guillaume is really tall. Ali, Guillaume, and Katie. This is where we started the day. After brunch. Can’t take Guillaume anywhere. Ladies on a bridge. Seriously can’t take him anywhere.

After meeting up with Ali’s friend Sinead, we saw Torc Waterfall and Muckross House.

Torc Waterfall Katie, Ali, and Sinead Katie’s elegant lunch setup. Everything is beautiful in Ireland. Muckross House

We also checked out Ross Castle.

Ross Castle Everything in Ireland is beautiful. Seriously. Guillaume is really tall, but Katie is… not. Guillaume says pinecones are Irish coconuts.

We got all cleaned up to hit the town for an experience. Unfortunately, I can’t divulge it here because what happens in Killarney stays in Killarney.

Writing

The guest author for my one class was John Boyne, who is probably best known in the States for writing The Boy in the Striped Pajamas (and he’s written a sequel!). His talk was so inspiring! He gave lots of great advice, but stressed that writers should “Find what works for you and stick with it.” And he told us the joy should NEVER go away. He advised, “Don’t get in the way of your story” and to “Just write the best book you can write.” It was an awesome experience.

My piece was one of three critiqued during workshop and I was thrilled with the feedback. I was told my dialogue was “magic” (holy shit) and that my piece was intriguing and immersed the reader. What more can I ask for? Sure, there’s always some fine tuning to be done, but I am over the moon.

And now to write the next piece

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