Wed 29 Aug 2012
Posted by gremlin under Children, Family, Fatherhood, Maeve
Comments Off
Today was Maeve’s last day in the Giraffe creche in the IFSC Dublin. The creche let me state is excellent and I would recommend to anyone. Maeve has gone from a small 7 month old toddler to a confident, brash, smart and totally lovable 4.5 year old little lady under their tutorship who can count and can write her name. Tomorrow she starts the next phase of her life – primary school in Donabate and is something she has been excited about for months. It will mean of course a change in her moms and dads lives to cater for the school location and times (less time in school than was spent in the creche), but it should work out well for everyone concerned.
One big personal thing for me (and re-enforced by her new Passport arriving yesterday) is – where has the last four and a half years gone, and my how she has grown and matured!!!
Still love her and her mom to bits though.
Wed 4 Jul 2012
Posted by gremlin under Ireland, Life
Comments Off
Yeah I know its the US Independence day, but this is NOT what this post is about. What this post is about is that 20 years ago today as a 27 year old I came home to Ireland from England, and Ireland as well as myself have changed a lot since then. It was an overcast but warm day, and everything I had was in a kit-bag and a rucksack – and that included a small expensive 386 laptop which I had bought the previous week from my redundancy pay. England was in a bad way and in recession in 1992, and mom and dad (and my kid sister) had returned to Ireland a few years earlier; I had lost my job (voluntarily) and I had split from my then Girlfriend (she found someone new) and needed to get out of the rut my then life had gotten into.
Dad being the rock of a man he always was picked me up at Dun Laoghaire ferry port – the old train pier and not that fancy new one used by the HSS and we drove home to Navan. Ireland in 1992 was a very different place in many ways and in others was so very similar to today. Unemployment was high then and now – as was “the recession”; although the recession today is far worse than then. I have seen Ireland “boom” and “bust” because of Politician and developer greed where Fianna Fail bought electoral power with the money from a property boom used to bribe the electorate by reducing taxes and boosting the public sector and social payments. Ireland has become a haven for IT because of its closeness to Europe, we speak English and have a well educated workforce – being corporate friendly has helped. I have to admit the TV here is still awful and beautiful Georgian Dublin has been spoiled by high-rised development along the river and in the IFSC. A lot of the old cinema’s on Dublin’s O’Connell street and Abbey Street have closed – and a few new ones have opened. Thankfully the choice of cuisine has improved no end in Dublin in the last 20 years and the Porter House micro brewery produces some fantastic products.
Navan has gone from a charming quaint small country town town to one more bustling and surrounded by drab dreary housing estates full of people who commute daily to Dublin for work. There is now at least an “OK” motorway system in Ireland that was not there 20 years ago; although for the life of me I don’t understand why in Dublin they thought 2 lane motorways would be more than enough for any projected traffic load and that using roundabouts and traffic lights to gain access to motorways was the right thing to do.
I have had a great 20 years and life has been good to me and the family. I met a wonderful woman who for some bizarre reason decided to marry me; and together we have a wonderful daughter. I have a great sister who I have a grand relationship with and whose kids are gorgeous. Being an IT Developer/Architect is the best job anyone can have – well I think so. Life in short is good.
Coming home to Ireland 20 years ago was the best decision I ever made and I find it hard to understand how 20 years has passed so fast.
Anyway happy Independence Day everyone.
Tue 12 Jun 2012
Posted by gremlin under Children, Family, Fatherhood, Maeve
Comments Off
I took this photo yesterday of my daughter in my home-office “relaxing” watching Spider-Man. Talk about cute….
Finding it hard to believe she is only Four years old and is starting school in September.
Sat 26 May 2012
Posted by gremlin under Family, Fatherhood, Funny, Maeve
Comments Off
The last few days weather has been ideal – sunny with a cool breeze. The downside to this with the recent rain is that our lawn has grown alarmingly from something like 3 inches to 8 inches plus in some places over a few days. Time to get the lawn mower out.
Maeve my daughter – bless her kind soul – decided to ‘help’ push the lawn mower (although I did manage to persuade her to hold the power cable out of harms way). I digress. It was during the lawn mowing that my daughter announced “don’t cut the flowers (buttercups and dandy-lions) I want them for my wedding”. “Wedding” blazed red across my consciousness – “what wedding” I spluttered after almost having a heart attack. “Will asked me to marry him and I said ‘Yes’” she replied “we are getting married in June” she added. Not only did I not know this “Will” character – but I will definitely taking more interest in this young man in the future – but my Daughter is only 4 years old and this is the kind of conversation I was not expecting (dreading) for 20 or more years.
Anyway I managed to rein in my more wilder thoughts and get back to the task at hand and finished mowing the lawn. When I look back on it all it was rather funny; Her mom and teachers at the creche think so; and when you think about it a 4 year old having any comprehension of what getting married means is quite impressive. It is however a subject I would rather leave to later – much, much latter, and I am sure many dads agree with me.
Thu 10 May 2012
Posted by gremlin under Children, Family, Fatherhood, Maeve
Comments Off
Got a shock last night. I handed my daughter my Asus Transformer tablet with a drawing app opened and she then proceeded to draw/write this with her finger:
My 4 year 3 month old daughter can write her name (and I found out later my name too) and the numbers. I was an am in awe at her. I am also really pleased with the teaching at the creche Maeve goes to in the IFSC in Dublin.
Maeve is still charming everyone she meets – “so cute” is the most comment I have heard; and her English is excellent and advanced. Her emotional development is progressing nicely in that she understands others emotions (even that they are sad) and empathizes with those who have lost someone or someone is insulted.