Home again, home again, jiggity jig

Well, in the midst of packing, sorting, throwing things away, tossing others aside, and keeping some... I thought I'd just put one last post "out there" to say thanks to all our friends and family who've been so generous to us all year long: keeping in touch, visiting, sending care packages, etc. It is all greatly appreciated! Without help from our American family, Evan would've been wearing nappies made from newspaper and shopping bags (those little bitches are EXPENSIVE here); I would've been brushing my teeth with a dish cloth; and Andrew would've used bleach as deodorant.

But, we made it through ten months of Dublin--prices, weather, occasional homesickness; and we're arriving in Detroit on 7/28... bags and parts and pieces all...

So, a few more special thanks to people here, who've made the last months of my time in DUB enjoyable, interesting, and multi-cultural: to Lucy, my Welsh Wife, whose companionship and humor I'll treasure always; the ladies at Fulbright Ireland-- Carmel and Sonya-- whose follow-through, attention to detail, and advice were absolutely essential to maintaining my sanity; to Andrew's advisors, Gary Murphy, Jim Schmiechen, and Tim O'Neill, who think everything Andrew does is full of scholarly promise; to all the people who look fwd. to seeing Evan and I walking around campus; and to my only Irish friend, Niall, whose many kindnesses will never be forgotten.

Slainte. Word.

A New Day...

Welcome to the world, Lincoln Edward Mendenhall, 7 lb. 6 oz., 18.5" long.

Today let us think,
let us think of Linc and
his very first day in the world.
Let us tilt a drink to Linc
and his dark tumbling curls.
Tonight let us dream
dream of Linc, once a blink in his mammy's eye;
Now he's here, have no fear--
See the stars in the sky.

Congrats Amy, David, and wee Linc.

Labour

My mom called at 3:30 PM to say my sister Amy's water broke. It's 8 hours earlier in San Jose, CA; so my guess is she's pushing by now, at least. I should have a nephew in the next few hours... can't wait to find out the kid's name. They've kept it a secret. God knows I hate secrets and surprises both!

Two weeks to go....

So, you're probably thinking, what's the point of an update when I'll be home in two weeks? Well, it's because lots and lots of things have happened since I last updated, including a grand visit from my mom and dad, a wee visit to Kilkenny, a 4th of July Bash at the US Ambassador's house, and then some...

First: Munka Benzin is with child, heaving and happy in her morning sickness! Her initiation to the Muthahood will complete on 3/2/06-- give or take a few days. HOLLA!

Second, but in the same vein: my sister, Amy-also-pregnant, but massively, hugely pregnant, so much so that she has to sleep sitting up-- will join the Muthahood definitely by 7/31/05. She prays for an early delivery: the doctor has said, "This child is BIG." May we dance round our gardens with daisy chains in our hair and sacrifice tree frogs so the gods will smile upon Our Amy! Deliver! Deliver! Deliver! HOLLA!

So, yes, a visit from my mom and dad. It was great to have extra help with Evan, who accomplished many things while they were here: he had his first visit to the Zoo, developed a greater interest in walking, and also rode his first train and spent his first night in a hotel.

My mom, dad, Evan and I went to Kilkenny for a two-nights stay. It is a very Irish city about a 2.5 hrs. train ride from DUB. We stayed in the Hotel Ormonde just outside the castle walls, and the accommodation was first-rate familyness. They even had Pack-n-Plays available at the hotel so that was one thing we didn't have to cart around. Evan didn't care much about Kilkenny itself, just about crawling under the beds in the hotel room. Having said that, I did like Kilkenny, the castle is one of the best I've seen, and I bought some earrings off this nice old lady in St. Canice's Cathedral who told me I looked "too young to be a mum." She guessed I was 18... but that's only because she was about 70... I guess age is all relative.

On July 2, Andrew and I went to a Fourth of July party at the US Ambassador's house. It was an interesting event: Guinness and Bud on tap (if that isn't a perfect illustration of Irish/American friendship, I don't know what is), "Taste of Chicago" themed-buffet (Ambassador James Kenny is from Chicago, hence the theme), private fireworks show, deluxe porta-loos that kept losing electricity, Pat Boone singing "America the Beautiful" in a bright green blazer (doing his leprechaun impression?), one of the actors from Law and Order: SVU ( I don't know his name, all I know it wasn't Ice-T, so who cares), several interesting conversations with people who work for the military, or in the embassy, or are somehow important to Ireland and America maintaining our drunken state of marital bliss. Oh yeah, and free boxes of Frango chocolates as a parting gift. I forgot to add that our cab on the way in got swept for bombs. The driver loved every minute of it.

Sadness: London bombing. Optimism: these people know how to cope with terrorist attacks better than "surprised" Americans-- they had their asses handed to them World War II, and several times since-- details? Ask Andrew.

Strange: only two weeks left here. Happiness: coming home. Sadness: leaving.