What snow? There it was...gone. All that carnage and mayhem. Well...did ya get goin? Did ya get the water goin? Did ya get the heating goin? Did ya get the car goin? Did ya get a plumber? How did ya get the Christmas!! It came and it went, a strange one this year. Pressure was on this end to get out before the band of snow came our way and locked us in. So, we made an executive decision, wet washing in the machine, breakfast still on the counter, the place like a tip, rang the nice man in StenaLine and got an early ferry. All the while we watched the traffic reports and heard of trucks jack-knifing, 20 mile tailbacks on the motorways but when you drive it, against relentless snow with kids in the back, no windscreen water, zero visibility, toes frozen...in a word...stress. I was brickin it. None of us wanted to spend Christmas here so we had our hearts set on getting that ferry. Determination or irresponsibility, call it what you will. I had visions of us as characters from a Cormac McCarthy novel, trailing the highways and byways, warding off other vagrants, car abandoned, belongings and children on our backs. There was no ‘are we there yet’ from the Three. ‘Will we get home to Ireland’ was more like it. I was never as glad to get out of the car in Holyhead. The ferry crossing a dream. From Dublin to Tipp we drove in the wee small hours on roads that can only be described as treacherous. Door to door, Thame to Clonmel, 17 hours. I think we were lucky compared to some poor divils. We could have been stuck in Armageddon in Heathrow or Dublin. Nanna and Grandad were waiting up with tea and sandwiches. Sure, what else would ya be doin of a Tuesday morning, 5am! The kids are seasoned travellers, used to being dragged around the place but that was tough going. They slept like babies. Christmas morning was great, Santa came and Nanna got drunk on ½ glass champagne at 8am in the morning. Must have been the bubbles.
Stephen’s Day packed up the wagon and headed Wesht. The big thaw was on. Wow! Everything green again. Glad to see the back of snow. No water in the folks house in Galway but hooked up hose with neighbour and filled the tank. Meanwhile, trasna an uisce mór in New York, the Galway Nanna and Grandad were stranded, again, in...more snow. Delayed on the way out in Dublin, delayed on the way back in NY. I didn’t envy them. We saw them for about 2 hours before we headed back. But, we’ll be back before they know it. We packed, again, and unpacked, again this end. On arrival here we gingerly turned the key, as we had not turned off the mains on departure, so eager to get going. I had visions of all our bits n bobs meeting us at the end of the road in a flood. But touching wood all was well. Nothing was afloat and no sign of leakage.
I have learned many things this Christmas; freezing temperature of kerosene v diesel (we had green jelly in the tank), much about plumbing, how to drive in snow, the futility of rear wheeled drive in snow, how we take water for granted, the warmth and joy of an open fire, waste of time makin pastry and mashed potatoes cause they’re never as good as His mother’s and most importantly we think we have control of things, but really we don’t...oh and the importance of thermal vests. So here’s to 2011. I was never a wan for resolutions, not starting now either.
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