They Say It's Your Birthday

Last Friday, September 19, was my birthday.  It was grey and rainy because, you know - Ireland.

My mom is able to send voice recordings via email, and she sang the Casey Jones birthday song for me - something she's been doing as long as I can remember.  For those of you who are from the Midwest and are of an age, you might remember this song.  For everyone else, you can listen to it here:  Happy Birthday Song by Casey Jones - YouTube

I decided to spend the day knocking around the local mall.  Eli doesn't much care for browsing when we're out shopping, and I like to look around, so off I went to Carrickmines Shopping Centre, which is a mere two tram stops up the line.

It's a bit of a hike from the tram stop to the mall complex, and there's a large open field along the way.  We hadn't seen our little deer friends for a while, but two younglings were out having breakfast.  I stopped to watch them for a little while, taking a couple pictures, before going on my way.  There was a gal coming in the opposite direction who had seen me stop and when I looked back, she had stopped in the same place and had her phone in picture-taking position.

As my purse is falling apart, I went to TK Maxx and found one that can be converted into a backpack if needed, so that will be quite useful.  I wandered around looking at Halloween decor and fondling the soft blankets and pillows.

I wanted to get a little treat so I went to Krispy Kreme...and walked right back out when I saw that each donut cost €4.  I know it was a special occasion but that was too rich for my blood.  I'm not spending that much on donuts that are mediocre, at best.

Instead, I went to Dealz and got a bunch of snacks for €8.

After returning home to offload my purchases, I went back out to go to Tesco Express, which is one tram stop in the opposite direction.  I had collected a lot of empty Coke bottles and wanted to get rid of them.  I think I've mentioned it before, but Ireland charges you a small fee when you buy a bottled drink and you can recoup that amount by taking the bottles to a store with a collection machine.  It's to encourage people to recycle.

There's a small area with deli sandwiches, drinks, and snacks.  They run a meal deal where for €4.50, you can buy a sandwich or other entree, a bag of chips or other snack, and a drink.  I was very excited to see that they had my favorite hot ham and cheese panini!  Sooo good with the crunchy bread and gooey cheese.  I also got a small bag of Cool Original Doritos (ranch dressing/seasoning is not a thing in Ireland so Cool Ranch Doritos are Cool Original Doritos here) and a bottle of chocolate milk.  Ambrosia.

On Saturday, Eli and I went to Dundrum.  I dropped off some library books that I had read, and then we walked to the mall.

We visited both Easons and Dubray, which are bookstores.  I enjoyed walking around but didn't buy anything.

My real reason for wanting to go to Dundrum Shopping Centre was that I wanted to go to Eddie Rockets (aka Johnny Rockets) and have a cheeseburger.  We hiked to the restaurant, only to find that it wasn't open yet.  Argh!

Outside the mall, there's a water feature so we sat on a low stone bench and watched the fountain go through its paces.  Across the way, there was a small boy running back and forth, back and forth.  I told Eli that it was a shame we couldn't figure out a way to put a battery pack on small children because that's a lot of energy that could be harnessed for future use.

The restaurant was due to open at 11:30 so we headed back inside the mall.  The door to the eatery was open/unlocked so we went in.  A staff member came over and said they weren't open yet, and I was like "It's 11:29."  I wasn't rude but I was verging on hangry at this point.  We were seated, and the wait staff let us know that the grills wouldn't be up and going for 10-15 minutes, and we were fine with that.  We amused ourselves by flipping through all the songs on the little jukebox at the table.  They actually work - 20 cents per song - but we didn't request any music.

I had a bacon double cheeseburger with waffle fries and a chocolate shake.  There is no photo because I inhaled said meal without sparing any time to take a picture.

As we were walking back to the tram, there were a couple women handing out pamphlets.  I'm not usually quick enough on my feet to refuse them, so I accepted one from the gal who told me "Jesus loves you."  And in the back of my mind, I was thinking of Mitch Hedberg's bit where he said, "When someone hands you a flyer, it's like they're saying 'Here, YOU throw this away.'"

I didn't throw it away though.  I put it into our recycling bin at home.

And here is the author at 58.  This was my second birthday while in Ireland - the first after we had been here for a full year.  I still feel some dissonance; it's almost like I forget where I am, forget that I'm all the way across half a continent and an ocean from what I used to call home.

After I finished all my running around on Friday, I sat for a little while in reflection.  My life is sliding by, seemingly unnoticed by me.  I know that my time here on this planet is finite.  If I didn't already realize that, losing my best friend when she was only 54 years old put it into sharp focus.

I just started re-reading Martha Beck's Finding Your Own North Star.  She talks about everyone having an essential self and a social self - the essential self is your core, the thing that remains constant; the social self is created by the interactions we have with others.  When we nurture our essential self, we get closer to who we are, and it helps us find a purpose that's fulfilling and heart-felt.

The touchstone - the North Star - that I return to again and again in my own life is that I want to be a teacher and a healer.  Now my task is to figure out exactly what form that will take.  Maybe by next year at this time, I'll have found it.