On Feb 14th, a letter I wrote to the local paper was published; I was making a point about how the public discourse, especially on social media, is descending into something akin to a mob mentality.

Words matter. A lot. Language is the most complex of human achievements, whether in written form or through speech. It allows us to communicate our ideas, emotions, and thoughts.

Over the Holidays, as I was skimming through my Facebook feed, I came across a post that one of my cousins shared; it had the following quote:

“I don’t follow the “respect is earned” philosophy. I respect everyone automatically and then each person has the opportunity to lose my respect based on their behavior.”

At the point where I am in my life, I have become convinced that the fundamental source of unhappiness in our lives stems from expectations. In the history of human thought, this is probably not hugely revelatory, but I don’t think it’s generally known.

…in which we head back to Dublin to wrap it all up.

Well, sadly, this is it. Our last night in Ireland; we head back to Montreal tomorrow.

…in which we do a pilgrimage of sorts to Barrington’s Hospital in Limerick.

In the summer of 1981, Claire spent the summer with her 2 sisters, brother and mother in Alexandria, Egypt, where she was born. They still had family there, so they wanted to spend some time with them. Dad, who was working, stayed back in Canada and was to go spend the last 3 weeks with them.

…in which we visit the Cliffs of Moher, I lose my iPhone on the Burren and Loreena McKennitt helps me find it.

A much more relaxed morning; we get up at 7:45AM, get dressed and head to the small dining room here in the B&B. The other guests aren’t up, so we get the table looking out towards the ocean and the cliffs – quite the view for breakfast!