As my son gets older, he finds ever more ingenious ways to keep us on our toes. Over the years, he has filled the oven with random stuff and turned it on. He has chopped blueberries with a chefs knife. He once painted his entire head black – face, neck, hair, even the insides of his…
I had the occasion to visit Skerries this weekend. Its been a long time since I’ve been, so it was lovely to revisit a place that is full of childhood memories. My grandmother’s people were from Skerries and she inherited her Aunt Angie’s cottage in the town so I spent many summers there with my…
We had a significant birthday in our house this week. Our son with Down Syndrome turned 12. And what a 12 years it has been. I cried in the lift heading up to the labour ward – I knew something big was about to happen. A couple heading out with their newborn, thinking I was…
I met with my oldest friends for a few pints of porter last weekend. It’s our thirtieth year together and we never fail to be amazed that we’ve made it this far. Our opening gambit was the topic of Dry January, the consensus being we might not have many Januarys left so why would we waste…
It’s been a lot. Christmas, a birthday, everyone has had coughs and colds and sore throats. We’ve all been home for too long. We’ve done our best to get out in the fresh air every day, but the weather has been shite and it has been a chore. I breathed a huge sigh of relief…
My friend and I had 24 hours away together to celebrate Nollaig na mBán. We’re both musicians, we have both travelled extensively and we have both lived large lives. And now, we’re both parents to children with special needs. In a previous lifetime, 24 hours away would have meant eating, drinking and partying on…
These teeth. They have been with us for a very long time. My son didn’t have any teeth at all until he was almost 3 years old. His first tooth was a big, back molar. Then, gradually, teeth started popping up all over the place, some at the back, an odd one near the…
One of the most exhausting things about keeping the house up and running is trying to do it in an eco-friendly manner. Keeping on top of what goes in what bin. Little piles of stuff everywhere that needs to be brought somewhere – but where? The dump? The charity shop? Endless inconsequential decisions that paralyse me…
One of the many challenges of returning to college as a full-time mature student has been keeping the family fed. Quick, tasty, healthy meals that I can throw together at the end of a long day. Not much to ask. Ideally, I’d be batch cooking at the weekend, but I have yet to get that…
A lifetime ago in a faraway land, I had these lovely neighbours from Brazil. She was an incredibly beautiful ballerina, and he was a sound engineer with a face made for radio. Using a mishmash of English, Portuguese and French, we became great friends, bonding over our love of music. There’s an album by…