Tonight was family night. Cousins, aunts and uncles, brothers and sisters, nephews and nieces, from all over the world got together in our house for a few hours to catch up on each others’ lives. Some had not met for years. And I have this feeling that we all won’t ever meet each other again.

Someone gave a speech remembering each of the many family members who had died in recent years. It was hard to take, although there was also hope, with some family members, who had been told they’d die, surviving and with new family members being born. (I’ve been trying to find a similar story in The Dead by Joyce tonight, but it’s just too late to do this now.)

Pádraig had a great time meeting his cousins, aunts and uncles. He had a bit of the party food and a bit of a bottle of Coronas, while he was listening to and watching around the buzz of this latest big family meeting in our house!