An Irish Thanksgiving

I am sitting in gate B26 at the Denver International Airport, where they are kind enough to provide me with free wireless internet in an attempt to appease me and keep me from killing the super annoying family that has plopped themselves down right next to me. Usually it would be the kids who were the problem, but this time it is the parents. They are obviously tired and just keep bitching at each other about this and that and the other thing, and there is absolutely no way I can get up and leave because they have spread their luggage out in such a way that I am literally trapped.

Moving on, my Thanksgiving was fantastic. I only worked Monday (wahoo) and then flew out Tuesday morning to Philadelphia, where I spent the night at a super budget hotel near the airport. In the morning I got up and took the train into Philly where I did some sight-seeing and spent a couple of hours at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. I've never been to a big art museum before, so it was really cool for the first 2 hours. Then it was beyond boring so I left. I walked a few miles down to South Street where all the cool shops and cafes are. Still I managed to find myself a Starbucks (once a Seattle-ite, always a Seattle-ite) and read for a bit until my uncle from Delaware arrived at we met for dinner. After some delicious gyros we went back to the airport to pick up my mom as she arrived, then made our way down to my uncle's house in Wilmington, Delaware.

I finally got to meet my cousins, Onar (pronounced Honor) and Niamh (pronounced Neve) - they are Irish names. Anyway, I have met Onar only once at my high school graduation and she was just learning to walk. Now she's almost 9 years old, and little Niamh whom I've never met has just turned 4! They were so cool - being that my family emigrated when I was quite young, we never got to spend holidays with our cousins, so it was really nice to finally have a big family holiday. By the time the turkey was ready, we had my mom, her two brothers, their wives, my two cousins, my sister and I all around the table. We ate and drank and ate and drank...and then the songs started. My uncle Paul broke out his guitars and we sang along to the classic Irish tunes like Danny Boy, Cockles and Mussels, Spancil Hill, The Wild Rover and of course, The Parting Glass. We might as well have been home in Dublin, as the Irish spirit was truly alive on this American holiday.

I learned a lot about my mom's side of the family this holiday, and was finally able to get to know my relatives as an adult, and let them know who I was. I heard stories about their childhood, my distant family and long-dead ancestors. I tried to soak up as much of it as I could so that I can remember the stories and tell them to my own children when the time comes.

Now I'm just a layover and a 2 hour flight away from being back in Coeur d'Alene. It is hard not to be going "home" after a holiday like this, and I really miss CJ. Still, I have a job to do and I am determined to keep my attitude positive. I am looking forward to seeing my roomies, and have a date with one of them tonight to watch a $2 DVD we found about a female gang of kung-fu fighters. I intend to drink enough vodka tonics to make sure that the movie is FANTASTIC.

Here is a picture of my sister and I with our cousins:

Singing along with my Uncle Paul:
Here are the lyrics to Cockles and Mussels, a very popular Irish pub song:

In Dublin's fair city, where the girls are so pretty
I first set my eyes on sweet Molly Malone
As she wheeled her wheel-barrow
Through streets broad and narrow
Crying cockles and mussels, alive, alive-O!

Alive, alive-O! alive, alive-O!
Crying cockles and mussels, alive, alive-O!

She was a fish-monger, but sure 'twas no wonder
For so were her father and mother before
And they each wheeled their barrow
Through streets broad and narrow
Crying cockles and mussels, alive, alive-O!

Alive, alive-O! alive, alive-O!
Crying cockles and mussels, alive, alive-O!

She died of a fever, and no one could save her
And that was the end of sweet Molly Malone
But her ghost wheels her barrow
Through streets broad and narrow
Crying cockles and mussels, alive, alive-O!
Alive, alive-O! alive, alive-O!
Crying cockles and mussels, alive, alive-O!

I'm a happy little Irish girl. I hope all of your holidays were as full of joy as mine were.

Jen