Happy New Year!

I used to party on the last night of the year. There was one New Year’s eve when we weren’t married yet and I wasn’t living in Dublin yet, when the pubs closed at 11:30 (!) and I refused to go home. So we went to the harbour, found a German freighter, managed to get ourselves invited, and spent a couple of hours in the great company of very happy German sailors and their great looking Irish friends. We had a great night!

We’re home tonight watching 2016 in review. Just back from mass with a real sense of community where Patrick now has made many new friends. Tonight a man collapsed right beside us. We called an ambulance but within seconds there were two nurses beside the man who knew him and his family and were able to talk to him and to reassure him. He was hardly able to speak but made it clear that he didn’t want his wife to be called to the church as he didn’t want her to get upset. – An elderly lady said to me, “you never know how the day might end when you get up in the morning”.

2017 will be Pádraig’s year. I’ve got a feeling this year’s for me and you. I can see a better time when all our dreams come true. 2017, here we come!

See you tomorrow at 9am at the 40 foot for a dip in the water!

PS: I will go out next week to get the Christmas presents I didn’t get:) 3 CDs by Dylan, Bowie and Cohen – all remembered in the 2016 review with Dylan, still alive, winning the Nobel prize and singing about Fallen Angels, while Bowie and Cohen sang about wanting it darker and Lazarus being in heaven…