The Big News

I was a little nervous about telling my parents. I wasn't sure how they would handle it. Even though I'm fully grown, they still worry and want to protect me from every danger, real or imagined. So, I gathered up my courage and told my mother the news, I'm going to Ireland with Sarah. Even though Ireland is safer than LA, I expected her to be afraid and start warning me of the dangers of two girls traveling together. But instead, she seemed pleased. My father was okay with it too.

My father started telling me stories of my great grandfather who during the Great Potato Famine was found, at about the age of three, either abandoned or orphaned, living in the streets of Boston. All he knew was his name and that he was Irish. A Protestant preacher took him in and raised him. What happened to his parents is a mystery and we aren't even sure if he was born in Ireland or Boston, but his name was completely Irish. With all of the prejudice against the Irish in those days, that may be why he changed our family name to sound German. So, even though my family name comes from Ireland, my maiden name sounds German.

I have no idea what part of Ireland my ancestors came from, but it doesn't matter, it will be fun to see any part of Ireland that I end up in. My mother did express one concern, though. She hoped that Bird Flu wouldn't make it's way to Ireland. More warnings will come, I'm sure, after my mother has time to think of all of the things that could possibly go wrong. This could be entertaining to see how creative she gets.